Woven is nestled among trees, on an idyllic spot a few moments from the sandy beaches of Broadstairs on the Kent coast. This is a house designed to immerse its residents in nature; and even at first glance, it is easy to see how. Its author, Giles Miller Studio, wanted to 'break down barriers' with this design, and the house certainly does that, literally and figuratively – both internally, with its expansive, open-plan design, and externally, as it seemingly expands outwards and embraces the outdoors through floor-to-ceiling glazing on all sides and its 'woven', sculptural façade ready for nature to grow on and around it.
Woven: a house for immersing yourself in nature
Giles Miller champions experiential and finely crafted design through his namesake studio. 'The buildings we inhabit have a direct impact on our state of mind,' he says. 'Through their design they are curators of light, sound and human interaction, and they can expose us to nature and organic materials to dramatically positive effect. We believe that this aspiration, in synchrony with our latest surface and sculptural experimentation in the studio, has spawned a wholly unique architectural typology.'
With Woven, Miller envisioned the house's external skin as a series of intricate and delicately designed screens whose sculptural latticework allows light in, views out, and nature to inhabit them (as the site's jasmine, clematis and other plants are encouraged to grow and engulf the house in foliage and flowers). The pattern on the screens was inspired by the 'mathematical circularity of twisted rattan weave', explains the designer.
Inside, meanwhile, warm timber clads nearly every surface the eye can see. A Miele kitchen, Vispring beds, Grohe kitchen and bathroom fittings, Tala lighting, Caesarstone Frozen Terra surfaces and countertops, and L.Ercolani furniture help compose a domestic space fit for 21st-century living.
'Woven is a manifesto building – from the ground up and from the inside out, it has been designed to maximise the richness of experience for inhabitants through a unique approach to material selection and composition,' writes the studio, of Woven.
'The project has been delivered by a collaborative cohort led by Giles and his studio which includes architects, artists, engineers and makers alongside some of the world’s most conscientious suppliers.'
-
What is the role of fragrance in contemporary culture, asks a new exhibition at 10 Corso ComoMilan concept store 10 Corso Como has partnered with London creative agency System Preferences to launch Olfactory Projections 01
-
Jack White's Third Man Records opens a Paris pop-upJack White's immaculately-branded record store will set up shop in the 9th arrondissement this weekend
-
Designer Marta de la Rica’s elegant Madrid studio is full of perfectly-pitched contradictionsThe studio, or ‘the laboratory’ as de la Rica and her team call it, plays with colour, texture and scale in eminently rewarding ways
-
A Danish twist, compact architecture, and engineering magic: the Don’t Move, Improve 2025 winners are hereDon’t Move, Improve 2025 announces its winners, revealing the residential projects that are rethinking London living
-
This Hampstead house renovation in London transcends styles and periodsThe renovation of a Hampstead house in London by Belgian architect Hans Verstuyft bridges the classic and the contemporary
-
New book takes you inside Frinton Park Estate: the Essex modernist housing scheme‘Frinton Park Estate’, a new book by photographer James Weston, delves into the history of a modernist housing scheme in Essex, England
-
Conran Building's refresh brings a beloved London landmark into the 21st centuryConran Building at 22 Shad Thames has been given a new lease of life by Squire & Partners, which has rethought the London classic, originally designed by Hopkins, for the 21st century
-
Sadler’s Wells East opens: ‘grand, unassuming and beautifully utilitarian’Sadler’s Wells East by O’Donnell and Tuomey opens this week, showing off its angular brick forms in London
-
2025 Serpentine Pavilion: this year's architect, Marina Tabassum, explains her designThe 2025 Serpentine Pavilion design by Marina Tabassum is unveiled; the Bangladeshi architect talks to us about the commission, vision, and the notion of time
-
We celebrate the emerging London architects to be excited aboutThese emerging London architects are some of the capital's finest ground-breakers, movers and shakers; heralding a new generation of architecture
-
A library in a London telephone box? This is a charming reading nook full of surprisesSet in a restored London telephone box, Upper Street Little Library is a cosy beacon to encourage reading to the wider community
