Peak House responds to several key site characteristics as design inspiration. The significant Elm tree, an important landmark in the neighbourhood, was dutifully protected and shaped the basement spatial planning and curved dining area architecture. Further, privacy and consideration to the surrounding properties drove the concept for window screening. The screen brick design extrapolates the cladding across the windows maintaining the abstract monumentality of the façade. With varied spacing these bricks feature an inverted V inner face allowing intrigue, light, and views.

The façade and design also respond to the client brief and requirements of everyday family life. At ground level, glazing sensitively reveals the inner workings of the house at the main entrance and rear living areas. In the entrance, the hidden stairs to the basement and prominent spiral stair to the first floor converge in a transitional connector point in the home. This rationalised planning allows the curved stair and hovering brick entrance void to be fully appreciated. Private areas of the basement tuck themselves below the front garden facing their own sunken, foliage-filled lightwell.

On the first floor the private functions of the house including rumpus, bedrooms and bathrooms hide behind their monolithic custom brick skin. Much of the story behind Peak House reverts to the cladding material and the many stories attached to its development. Although manufactured in Spain, the bricks were produced and fired through the factories Biogas kilns fuelled by methane from landfill. Automation and PV systems quietly integrate themselves to control and moderate the resources the house might draw now and in the future.

Whilst a proportionally large component of the budget, the custom bricks both in their solidity and shape offer a longevity, delight and return on resources with a long view to the future. Each peak contributes an ever-changing play of shadows and aspiration for a timeless family home.