Low-Energy Home: Wimbledon House

In the middle of Wimbledon (London), Erbar Mattes Architecture have designed an energy-efficient contemporary house in timber frame construction. Read more here.

The house is located in the historic area of Wimbledon Village. Surrounded by houses with traditional details from around 1900, the house was built at the end of a quiet street. Previously there was an old bungalow on the site, which was demolished.

It blends into the surroundings in terms of form and choice of materials. The use of a light-colored brick and the lime mortar finish not only have the advantage of reflecting the typical local style, but are also considered natural, breathable materials. In addition, the steeply pitched roof is designed as a monopitch roof. This gives the detached house a restrained and inviting appearance from the outside. And impresses on the inside with its spacious rooms.

The house is made up of three interconnected blocks. Two blocks each consist of a first floor and an upper floor. Another block is single-storey. When you enter the house, you enter the single-storey block. More precisely, into a light-flooded, two-storey room with a kitchen and large windows. The latter offer a view of the garden and the characteristic remains of a 17th century boundary wall that stands on the edge of the property. The rooms on the upper floor, such as the bedroom and bathroom, are open and bright with windows to the sky. In the house, the boundaries between inside and outside are blurred. Polished concrete floors, a light oak staircase, wooden windows, whitewashed walls and ceilings create a calm and restrained atmosphere.

The house is not only impressive on the outside, it also scores highly in terms of energy efficiency. It is designed to consume only half as much energy as a standard house. A high level of thermal insulation and airtightness ensure that the house stays warm in winter and hardly needs to be heated. When the underfloor heating is in operation, it and the hot water requirements are covered by an electric geothermal heat pump. This significantly reduces operating costs and carbon dioxide emissions. The house meets the highest standards of sustainability and comfort. The materials, such as the clinker bricks of the perforated façade, are made of clay bricks and soft lime mortar. This ensures that the bricks can be reused.

The Erbar Mattes office consists of Demian Erbar and Holger Mattes. Both studied in Germany and founded the office in London in 2015. The aim of their work is to design affordable low-energy houses.

Read more about another property in London and the surrounding area: The Corner Field House