As client/architect the brief was an evolutionary process. It initially started as a family ambition to create a "magical" glass home in a woodland setting where inside/outside would be as dematerialised as possible both by day and night.
This developed to include water as a central theme, to create the joy of the lakeside setting. Other key preferences were to see the house at a distance on arrival. Approach by a long drive. Arrive in a courtyard experience. Bedrooms to relate to a more private, softer walled garden. Provide an energy efficient solution whilst achieving maximum transparency. Both my wife and I delight in the "minimalist" aesthetic and the challenge was to achieve this both internally and externally at the same time as providing an entirely practical home for our three children.
Skywood house won a RIBA award for architecture in 1999 and was nominated for a Mies Van de Rohe Foundation award in 2001. Skywood has also received awards for its material and construction and received various design commendations.