Crisscrossing planks of glulam timber form the sculptural roof of Arbour House, a family home designed by London-based architect Andrei Saltykov.

Saltykov, who leads the studio Andrei Saltykov and Partners, completed the two-storey, semi-subterranean house on a backland plot surrounded by residential gardens in Crouch End, north London.

Arbour House features a sculptural roof made from glulam timber

Previously home to an industrial workshop, the site had been abandoned for decades following a fire.

A low-lying building was necessary to respect the neighbours, leading Saltykov to design a house with the feel of a woodland pavilion.

The house is located on a north London site surrounded by gardens

"Tucked away and well hidden, this former workshop site had considerable obstacles: restricted access, planning opposition and a long history of dereliction," said Saltykov.

"Yet its greatest asset was clear from the outset; an enclosed pocket of land surrounded by woodland in the heart of north London, offering a rare opportunity to create a home that feels both protected and deeply connected to nature."

The diagrid roof gives the house its distinctive triangular eaves

The glulam timber diagrid roof gives the house a sculptural presence, with triangular eaves cantilevering out from the walls on all four sides.

The structure is exposed internally, with a zigzagging profile revealed in the slope of the plywood ceiling panels.

The house is split-level, with a combined kitchen and dining room that opens to a courtyard

Underneath the roof, a split-level floor allows the ground floor of the house to follow the slope of the topography, dividing the plan into two zones.

A combined dining room and kitchen benefits from the high ceilings on the lower level, opening out to a west-facing courtyard, while the upper level includes an entrance lobby and a living room with a more intimate scale.

Staircases wrap the sides of the centrally positioned kitchen, leading down to a sunken bedroom floor that is equally split-level.

Rooms on this level feature east-facing windows, thanks to courtyards dug out beside the building.

Above the timber beams, ceiling panels zigzag up and down

"The plan reacts to the sun path," said Saltykov. "The 'morning side' with bedrooms and their intimate courtyards faces sunrise to the east, whereas the communal and open 'evening side' faces the afternoon sun to the west."

"A floating timber roof ties everything together, resulting in two different clear heights on the main level: low and intimate in the living room, generous and airy above the kitchen and dining space," he added.

A living room offers a more intimate scale than the kitchen and dining room

Saltykov also designed his own home on a tricky site. Station Lodge is built on a site sandwiched between suburban houses and a railway track in south London.

But Arbour House proved especially difficult. Saltykov and former partner Tom Lacey, who together founded Lacey & Saltykov, first developed a concept for the site in 2015. They faced multiple challenges in both the planning and build stages.

Staircases run along both sides of the central kitchen

"It took six years, three applications, two appeals and several amendments to win the permission that justified the huge emotional and financial commitment behind the project," Saltykov.

"When it finally started on site, towards the tail end of the first Covid lockdown, we all thought the worst was over. Instead, inflation, Brexit, supply chain chaos and further lockdowns brought more challenges."

Bedrooms are on the basement floor, with east-facing windows

The concept remained largely the same throughout, although the original vision to have trees growing on top was abandoned.

The 220-square-metre house is now home to a family. The owners said it is "a brilliant party house", but also a calm retreat where they can "sit and watch the birds and squirrels with a cup of tea".

The photography is by French+Tye and Andrei Saltykov.

Project credits:

Architect: Lacey & Saltykov, Andrei Saltykov and Partners Structural engineer: Foster Structures Main contractor: Plan C