The procurement of this project shows that erosion of trust is a thing of the past. The site was purchased with planning consent for a detached house almost identical to its neighbours. The client negotiated a contract with the builder and gave Gordon Duffy of Studio DuB free rein within the given parameters. Duffy retained the eaves and ridge height but has totally reworked the previous design leaving nothing but the silhouette. Roof and wall have been clad uniformly in man-made slate. Inside, the standard two storey arrangement has been transformed into three levels: a ready made loft conversion. Duffy designed the structure to free the volume of roof trusses, allowing a gallery to look down upon the canted living area. The steel ring beam is exposed in the main living area and supports the timber framed structure above. The Mantle is an insulated timber frame house served by underfloor heating throughout. A “granny flat” on the ground floor is kept discrete from the main accommodation above. Overgrown dormers cantilever to the front punctuating the entrance whilst a terrace to the rear provides sightlines right through the main volume. Although the Mantle required only a variation to the planning consent, it has entirely reinvented a tired suburban typology.