Vincent Denecker’s old brick house proved difficult and expensive to heat, so after years of contemplating a project, he replaced it with a contemporary, energy-efficient timber home

WORDS JENNIFER GRIMBLE

The timber frame home is finished with off-white acrylic render, British cedar cladding and a slate roof. A gravel driveway leads to the new standalone garage in the same materials palette

Although Vincent Denecker enjoyed his time in his brick-built house in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, having purchased the property in 1995, he found himself craving more space and comfort as the years rolled on. “It was a nice property, but very dated,” he says. “It was built in the 1930s, so had poor insulation and was difficult to heat. It was always too hot in summer and too cold in winter. But it had a spacious garden and was in a nice area.”

Vincent considered improving the property and even applied for planning permission to extend it in 2010. “I realised it was too much of a compromise because the home’s issues would still have been there,” he explains. Time passed; Vincent retired and, before too long, the Coronavirus pandemic hit. “I suddenly had nothing to do and realised it was the perfect time to focus on the project,” he says. “After a lot of online research, I thought my best option was to demolish my house and build something new in its place.” To gain more inspiration, Vincent visited The National Self Build and Renovation Centre (NSBRC) in Swindon. It was there he spotted a stand showcasing the work of Lapd Architects, who happened to also be based in Abingdon. “I visited their website and saw their previous projects. I read lots of positive feedback,” says Vincent. “So, I reached out to them and had my first meeting with architect Opinder Liddar in September 2020. He suggested I put together a mood board of ideas.”

Vincent requested a modern home with clean lines, plenty of natural light and excellent energy efficiency. “I wanted to use timber frame because it’s quick to assemble and the shell provides fantastic thermal and airtight properties,” he says. “I gave Opinder pointers and he came back with the first proposal. It looked good, but we did a few more design tweaks until I was completely happy.”