From architecture to product design
A home of
interdependencies.
01 / Overview
The medium was architecture.
The way of working was product.
A technically ambitious private home, developed through systems thinking, close collaboration and attention to human experience.
Nestled within a woodland setting, the house brings structural stone, cross-laminated timber and oak beams together in a highly crafted whole. Its spatial experience moves from a naturally lit stone stair to quiet oak-lined rooms and a partially underground wellness area that opens towards the landscape.
- Role
- Architect
- Practice
- Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands
- Scope
- RIBA stages 4–5 · Three years
- Focus
- BIM coordination · Interior packages · Bespoke joinery
Project languageVisual material withheld · Private commission
01StoneMass · Permanence
02OakWarmth · Touch
04LightSequence · Atmosphere
02 / Transferable practice
Different output.
Same design muscles.
Architecture taught me to work across a system whose parts are inseparable. Product design asks the same fundamental questions: who is this for, what must work together, where can it fail, and how do we make the experience feel clear?
Product practiceEvidence in architectureTransfer
Systems thinkingStone, timber, structure, services and joinery developed as one coordinated whole.See the relationships, not isolated features.
Shared source of truthThe BIM model aligned specialists, client conversations and construction information.Create clarity around a common model.
PrototypingMock-ups, samples and factory visits tested bespoke elements before final fabrication.Learn early, then refine with evidence.
Experience designArrival, movement, daylight, tactility and acoustics were considered as one lived journey.Design beyond the individual touchpoint.
Quality assuranceSite inspections and snagging closed the loop between design intent and built reality.Own the outcome, not just the proposal.
03 / The system
Every detail had
upstream consequences.
The work was less about drawing isolated objects and more about coordinating decisions across materials, specialists, fabrication constraints and programme. A change in one layer could reshape several others.
Human
experience
experience
01Spatial intentSequence · Scale · Light
02StructureStone · CLT · Oak
03PerformanceAcoustics · Services · Safety
04FabricationTolerances · Assembly · Finish
05DeliveryProgramme · Site · Quality
01 / Door02 / Window03 / Internal shutters04 / Joinery zone
04 / A constrained system
The library had
no room for error.
Three fixed boundaries—the door, window and internal shutters—left no designed tolerance.
Joinery had to be fabricated before the surrounding construction was complete, while aligning with the project programme. The response was an integrated system rather than a collection of cabinets: acoustic panels, clerestory windows, shelving, a retractable desk and a reading seat all resolve within the oak-lined room.
Fixed inputDoor + window + shutters
User needsFocus + comfort + access
System responseOne coordinated joinery assembly
05 / Prototype to reality
Design was a loop,
not a hand-off.
Close collaboration with the joinery subcontractor turned drawings into prototypes, factory learning and refinements. Quality was shaped continuously—before, during and after fabrication.
- 01FrameIntent + constraints
- 02ModelInterfaces + options
- 03PrototypeMock-ups + samples
- 04ReviewFactory + team feedback
- 05DeliverFabrication + site
- 06RefineInspect + snag
06 / Shared source of truth
The model was not
just documentation.
BIM supported service coordination, design development and communication. Real-time visualisation made client conversations more concrete, while the shared model allowed bespoke elements to develop alongside construction.
Design modelAlign intent
Built realityVerify outcome
07 / Experience at every scale
A home is a sequence,
not a set of rooms.
The project considered how people arrive, move, focus and retreat. Material, light and acoustic decisions support each moment without calling attention to the complexity behind them.
Slatted acoustic languageConcealed keyhole fixingMechanical connection
08 / The smallest interaction
Even a handle
belongs to a system.
The glass-door pull handle for the sauna and steam-room pods was developed as part of the slatted timber acoustic language—not added afterwards. A concealed keyhole fixing connects it to a timber batten mechanically secured through the glass.
Good details make the system feel simple, even when the resolution is anything but.
09 / Reflection
From components
to consequences.
This project strengthened the way I now approach digital products: understand the whole, make constraints visible, prototype the uncertain parts, and stay accountable to the final experience.
The scale has changed, but the discipline carries across. I bring an architect’s comfort with complexity, a systems mindset, and the habit of working closely with specialists to turn ambitious ideas into coherent, usable outcomes.
Systems thinkingCross-functional collaborationPrototypingDesign QAExperience designTechnical delivery