Two new homes for three generations, Cornwall

Architect Daniel, or Dig, Mattholie and his wife Sophie Coates, a psychologist, were living in Bristol with their first child when a plot of land came up for sale in the village of Millbrook, near Torpoint in Cornwall, where Dig grew up.

The site offered beautiful south-facing views across open countryside. ‘It was a good opportunity for us and my skill set,’ says Dig, who also knew that his retired parents, Mary and Kevin, were keen to downsize from their home close to the site. Their period property was becoming increasingly difficult to manage because of its multiple levels and large gardens.

Luckily, there was enough space for two houses on the plot, which came with a bungalow where Dig and Sophie lived during the early part of the build.

‘I designed two futureproof, functional, robust and – I hope – beautiful houses, one for us and one for my parents,’ says Dig. ‘The idea was to maximise performance by following Passivhaus principles, but without going for full Passivhaus certification, which would have been more costly.’

The site is close to agricultural buildings, so the simple gable form of the houses and their low maintenance cedar cladding provide a nod to the surroundings.

Hillside

Dig and Sophie’s house, Hillside, has four bedrooms, two offices (they both work from home) and two bathrooms. Downstairs there is an open-plan kitchen diner, separate living room and a utility.

Unduli

Dig’s parents’ house is called Unduli, which translates as ‘Hillside’ in Xhosa – Mary grew up in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The house perches on a slope and is built on an elevated deck on stilts. There are three bedrooms, one of which doubles up as a study, and accommodation is predominately over one level. ‘There’s also an additional nook in the eaves – the only room at first-floor level – where grandchildren can bunk in,’ says Dig. There is a fully open-plan kitchen/dining/living space, plus a utility, bathroom, shower room, a covered terrace and garden store.

Rationel AURAPLUS Sliding doors

Sliding doors in the open-plan living space open out onto the deck, which has a glass balustrade and roof canopy so the outdoor areas can be enjoyed all year round. There is step-free access to the garden from here too.

A healthy home

‘Unduli offers lots of the things the old house didn’t,’ says Dig. ‘It’s light, airy, healthy, elevated and warm. It’s easy to live in and completely suited to their current and future needs… it just works. The garden is more manageable, too.’

Dig was keen to provide a ‘turn key’ service for his parents, sheltering them from the stresses and strains of a build project.

‘He took a lot of trouble to tease out what we needed and offered choices all along the way,’ says Mary, ‘and we are so delighted with the end result.’

Both homes were designed and built through post-Brexit, Covid and the Russia/Ukraine war and completed in 2022. ‘In a first-world-problems sort of way it was quite difficult, says Dig. ‘Access wasn’t straightforward, but I worked closely with a good local main contractor, The Renovation Men of Cawsand near Torpoint, and selected the subcontractors carefully to de-risk things as much as possible and keep budgets, quality and deadlines on track.’

Hillside and Unduli: choosing the windows and doors

Dig has a passion for improving the energy efficiency of homes in Cornwall and making them less costly. He combines cutting edge construction techniques with local talent wherever he can on his projects.

He chose Rationel’s AURAPLUS triple-glazed doors and windows because he had specified them on previous projects and they had always performed well. They were supplied by a distributor Dig had previously worked with in Bristol and installed by his main contractor.

Hillside is warmed by the sunlight hitting four square south-facing first-floor Rationel windows, as well as by the heat given off by appliances and family occupants. ‘That heat is then retained by the triple glazing and airtightness,’ says Dig. ‘Radiators are minimal: there is one small one downstairs and two towel rails upstairs – and that’s it.’

A similar strategy is in place at Unduli, where south-facing bedroom windows and sliding doors onto the elevated deck are key. Underfloor heating and an air source heat pump were also installed for all-year-round warmth.

‘Rationel windows and doors were a key part of the heating strategy of the two houses,’ says Dig, ‘and the AURAPLUS products suited my brief and my general design ethos, which is always high performance at low cost.’