Sanctuary House

Sanctuary House is a contemporary new-build residence in Topsham, Devon, designed to make the most of its surrounding landscape and expansive views.

The architectural design combines extensive glazing with a carefully considered palette of natural and contemporary materials. Stone cladding, larch, zinc, porcelain tiles and lime render help integrate the building into its Devon setting, while large areas of glass bring natural light into the interior and frame views of the surrounding countryside.

The specialist glazing package incorporated minimal windows® sliding doors alongside large areas of structural and minimally framed glazing. Other glazing elements include frameless windows, glass walls, corner glazing and frameless glass balustrades.

A key objective of Sanctuary House was to create a contemporary home that remained closely connected to its Devon setting.

The extensive glazing was central to this approach. Large glazed elevations allow views of the surrounding landscape to become part of the interior experience, while the reduced framing of the minimal windows® sliding doors and structural glazing helps maintain visual continuity between the architecture and its surroundings.

The design also needed to respond to the specific requirements of the homeowners. One of the clients had a degenerative sight condition and required high levels of natural light without excessive glare. The architectural strategy therefore needed to maximise daylight while carefully controlling direct sunlight.

Large overhanging eaves were incorporated into the building to provide shading to the glazed elevations. This helped reduce direct glare while still allowing natural light to penetrate the interior.

The material palette further reinforces the relationship between the building and its surroundings. Stone cladding, larch, zinc, porcelain tiles and lime render create a natural yet contemporary appearance, while the extensive glazing provides transparency and views across the Devon landscape.

The result is a home where the glazing forms an integral part of the architectural design rather than simply being used as an opening within the building.

The wider project was designed around high levels of insulation and energy efficiency, with the glazing package incorporating specialist glazing specifications and enhanced fixing details.

The project quotation specified solar control glass to all glazing excluding the balustrades, alongside heat-soak testing to approximately 150m² of glazing. Approximately 138m² of low-iron glass was also specified across the glazing package.

The use of solar control glazing formed part of the wider strategy for managing solar exposure and glare within the highly glazed home. This worked alongside the large architectural overhangs, providing shading to the glazed elevations.

The minimal windows® sliding doors were also specified with flush threshold detailing, supporting a step-free connection between internal and external spaces. This contributed to the accessibility objectives of the project and its alignment with the historical Lifetime Home standard.

The combination of high-performance glazing, solar control, architectural shading and carefully detailed sliding door systems allowed the project to achieve extensive glazed elevations while addressing the performance requirements of the home.

Sanctuary House required the glazing package to balance expansive views and natural light with thermal performance, solar control, accessibility and the technical requirements associated with large areas of glass.

The client’s requirement for high levels of light without excessive glare was a particularly important consideration. Rather than reducing the amount of glazing, the design incorporated large overhanging eaves alongside solar control glazing to manage direct sunlight while maintaining high levels of natural light.

The completed Sanctuary House creates a strong connection between contemporary architecture and the surrounding Devon landscape.

Large areas of structural and minimally framed glazing allow the surrounding views to become a defining part of the interior experience, while the minimal windows® sliding doors provide large openings with minimal visible framing.

The combination of slim aluminium profiles, extensive glazing and flush threshold detailing creates a visually understated connection between the internal living spaces and the exterior. The clients were able to benefit from expansive views and high levels of natural light while the architectural shading strategy and solar control glazing helped manage glare and solar exposure.

The glazing package also demonstrates how multiple specialist systems can be integrated into one residential project. Minimal windows® sliding doors sit alongside structural glazing, frameless windows, glass walls, corner glazing and frameless balustrades to create a consistent architectural language throughout the home.

The natural palette of stone, larch, zinc, porcelain tiles and lime render complements the extensive glazing and helps the contemporary property sit sensitively within its Devon setting.

Sanctuary House demonstrates how minimal windows® sliding doors can form part of a highly considered architectural glazing strategy, combining slim sightlines, large-format glazing and carefully specified performance characteristics within a contemporary Devon home.

Five minimal windows® systems with a mixture of fixed and sliding glazing, including a large-format system spanning 7.84m wide × 2.7m tall, creating expansive glazed openings and views across the surrounding Devon landscape.

• Large-format minimal windows® sliding doors including a 7.84m-wide × 2.7m-tall two-track configuration with one sliding panel and two fixed panels.
• Additional slim-framed sliding doors measuring up to 4.53m wide × 2.68m tall, providing further large glazed openings throughout the property.
• 21mm-wide minimal windows® profiles providing slim sightlines across the sliding door installations.
• Large structural glazing including an oversized 4.55m-wide × 3.17m-tall structural glass panel.
• Frameless-effect structural glazing with silicone-jointed fixed glass panels and glass-to-glass junctions.
• Solar control glazing specified throughout the glazing package, excluding the external glass balustrades.
• Low-iron glazing specified across approximately 138m² of the project glazing package.
• Heat-soak testing specified across approximately 150m² of glazing.
• Marine-grade aluminium finishes specified to all frames.
• Flush threshold detailing to the minimal windows® sliding door systems.
• External frameless glass balustrades using toughened laminated glass with a DuPont SGP interlayer.

Architect: Barc Architects
Contractor: Bovey Construction Limited
Location: Topsham, Devon