Grand Designs: A House Built with Wood

Architect Sebastian Ferrão, founder of 538 Works, set out to create a compact, contemporary home in an awkward corner of his Grandparents’ garden in northwest London as seen on Grand Designs series 27, episode three.

Seb explains, “I wanted the house to feel generous despite its relatively small footprint, with good natural light, strong connections between the spaces and a real sense of materiality. I also wanted to explore how digital fabrication and modern construction could work alongside more traditional, hands-on making. The result is a three-storey CLT (cross laminated timber) house where much of the structure also serves as the finished interior. Rather than hiding the construction behind layers of plasterboard and finishes, the building is deliberately honest about how it has been made.”

Seb describes the front door as one of the first points where architecture becomes something you physically interact with, so he wanted it to feel substantial and tactile. “Oak gave me a door with real depth and grain, and an 80mm leaf has a weight and solidity that you notice every time you use it. It also connects to the timber that runs through the rest of the house,” he says.

The colour was developed specifically for this door and, now it’s in situ, it’s clear the red-brown shade works perfectly with the rest of the property. The door also has a motorised lock and fingerprint entry so there’s no visible handle or keyhole. The finished door was described as “beautiful” by Grand Designs presenter Kevin McCloud.

Door Details
Door: Reed in European oak on the external side, finished in a special oil. Raw V on the inside, finished in a white oil (895mm x 2275mm)
Handle: Recessed on both sides
Locking: Fingerprint entry

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