When architect Glenn Moore approached Wealden District Council to build a new house on a rural site in Laughton, East Sussex, it’s hard to know which would have made more of an impression – Moore’s design for a 360° round house, or his straight-talking approach that some may consider a trait of his native Australia.

Moore came to the UK in 1984 and has specialised in converting and renovating old buildings, especially barns. But while much of his interest lies in the historic, he has no time for a lot of present-day housing which is a variation on a Victorian or Edwardian theme. “Residential architecture here is all pastiche rubbish,” he said.

With this in mind, when Danny Knapp approached him to design a sustainable home that respected the landscape and took advantage of natural light and the views of the South Downs, Moore’s response was not so much which angle to take, but which curve.

His design is a 285m² timber frame round house which is expected to achieve level 5 of the Code for Sustainable Homes.
The local authority has given its consent and the project is due to start on site soon, but Moore admits it wasn’t an easy process.

Historic references
“It got through planning by about the width of a fag paper. It was radical – somewhat bigger than the two-bedroom farm worker’s cottage it’s replacing – and the planners weren’t really convinced about the radical shape. But I said it’s not radical. Oast houses and windmills are round; the Celts were building roundhouses; the Romans built round structures. This is unusual in terms of ‘conventional’ UK architecture, but it’s nothing new.

“But,” he continued, “it’s getting away from the mundane; the rectangular boxes, the tile hanging and multi-stock bricks, the mock Tudor or the ‘we’re in Sussex so let’s stick a panel of flint somewhere’.”

The timber frame structure will comprise two glulam ring beams – one at ground level and one at roof level – and 150x50 C16 softwood studs. The conical roof will be created by seven glulam beams, and a central column – either timber or steel – running from the basement to the roof will support the floors and roof. The spiral stairs will also run off it.

Two layers of 6mm plywood will be nailed to the outside face of the studs and the house will be finished externally with lightly planed locally-sourced larch cladding. Reclaimed clay tiles will cover the roof. The wall insulation will be made from recycled plastics.

Environmental and cost benefits
Moore has long experience with timber and favours it for its environmental and cost credentials. “It’s renewable, erecting a structure is far quicker in timber frame than in brick and block, you can achieve low U-values so much more easily and it’s flexible – there’s not a lot you can’t do with timber.

“Imagine trying to build the round house in brickwork – it would take forever and the labour costs would be horrendous.”
He will use steel and aluminium where appropriate, because they can be recycled, but steers clear of brick and block.
“We’re not opposed to using steel, it has its place. At least you can reuse it, whereas brick and block you can reuse once – for hardcore!” he said.

On this project he opted for glulam rather than steel on the grounds of aesthetics and its ability to achieve “some difficult shapes”.

The house “rotates” around the central staircase and the stairwell also provides passive ventilation

“With the building being circular and with glulam’s structural capabilities similar to steel, why put in an 8x8in steel when glulam can do the same job?” said Moore.

In this case glulam was also deemed to be cheaper, and installation will be made simpler by the glulam being supplied in sectional curves which will be bolted together on site.

However, for the floors, steel beams were an easier solution for the spans involved, and they will be used in conjunction with timber I-joists.

Aluminium double-glazed windows were chosen to provide a “light industrial feel”.

Thermal performance
The building will nestle in a formed dry moat, which will not only reduce the structure’s visual bulk, but also act as a thermal buffer. Inside the house, heating will be underfloor, with a ground source heat pump and MHVR, aided by the passive ventilation up the stairwell.

The house will be so thermally efficient, said Moore, that the only energy needed will be LPG for cooking and “a small requirement for electricity”.

Apart from an emphasis on sustainability, the Knapps’ brief was fairly open-ended and they are delighted with Moore’s solution for their “dream home”.

“They were a bit taken aback by the round house initially but when they saw how spectacular it was – open plan living on the main family floor and the views they’ll get over the South Downs – they saw it was sensible,” said Moore.

“In a square house you’re always going up and down passages and criss-crossing, whereas in a round house you have a central stair and everything rotates around it. Ergonomically it makes more sense than cubes.”

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