Marlow

Three agents had told the owners the block was unbuildable: a one-in-four fall, west-facing, and overlooked from both side boundaries.

The slope turned out to be the asset. Stepping the house down it in three half-levels meant no level needed a retaining wall over a metre, and each step produced a roof that shades the level below.

Living spaces sit on the middle level, tucked under the bedrooms above and set back far enough that the western sun reaches the deck but never the glass. The blank wall you see from the side street is doing the same job for the neighbours.

This is the house the owners described in the quote on our homepage. The air conditioning has run about a dozen times in two summers, which is the only performance claim we are confident making.