A new build house in a leafy suburb of London, the project was designed around a comment by the client who said 'I would not be adverse to having a tree inside my house'.

We took this as an invitation to find ways to integrate planting throughout the house and create the clearest connection from inside to the landscaping outside. Internal planting is located in deep planted beds, and a double height space in the living area accommodates a large bamboo which grows from ground to first floor. The exposed steel frame doubles as a structure for planting (in the long term) to attach and grow.

The scale, proportion and materiality of the house need to be very sympathetic to the neighbouring houses to meet the local design constraints. A palette of brick, clay tiles and zinc give a neutral palette around which planting is encourage to climb.