July 26, 2022

New Design Trend: Timber Cladding with Architectural Glazing

Written by Rebecca Clayton

How to incorporate timber cladding to glass designs in modern architecture.   

Combining timber cladding with architectural glazing has become an extremely popular trend within architecture, offering the opportunity to use contrasting materials for a completely unique design.

Exposed timber beams are often paired with architectural glazing for an authentic finish, or to incorporate traditional elements within modern new build projects.

Timber cladding with architectural glazing is a popular choice to achieve a biophilic architectural design, using natural materials and high glass to frame ratios to forge a strong connection to the outdoor environment and nature.

 

A number of our projects have used timber cladding in conjunction with frameless or slim framed glazing solutions, even using timber cladding to provide built-in solar shading to highly glazed areas. We worked with Stuart Barr CDR on a new build house in Great Missenden that used oak cladding in a distinctive shadow gap formation with slim framed sliding glass doors and a living green roof.

The combination of natural wood and oversized glazing grants a nod to biophilic design, allowing indoor and outdoor areas to be fully merged when the doors are open.

Both the cladding and the sliding glass doors wrap around two elevations of the expansive new build and the oak cladding has been brought over the aluminium profiles in parts of the design for a frameless effect finish.

 

In the heart of Hertfordshire, La Madonnia was designed to make the most of the surrounding unspoiled countryside. The angular design was made primarily of timber, with different shades and textures of wood used throughout to contrast the floor to ceiling elevations of moving glass walls.

Timber cladding can be seen both externally and internally throughout this contemporary new build, with aluminium framed glazing that creates an indoor-outdoor style of living.

Due to the rural location of the house, timber was the obvious choice to accompany the bespoke glazing and was even used on the inside of the roof overhang on the first floor, incorporating timber cladding with architectural glazing to the balcony areas.

 

Timber can also be used for a more traditional, cabin style. Sliding pocket doors are perfect for timber cladding designs, due to their ability to slide invisibly into hidden wall cavities and leave a completely open aperture, allowing the timber to be the primary feature.

Using timber cladding to glass internally can be a great feature when creating a warm, cosy atmosphere and can even increase the perceived size of the space thanks to the use of timber, a material primarily found outside.

Stonecrop is a perfect example of this, having been incorporated through the interior design as well as the exterior, with timber lining the ceilings of the main living space which is flooded with natural light thanks to the frameless architectural glazing solutions installed vertically.

 

Another way to combine timber cladding with architectural glazing is by specifying timber clad flooring, as seen within this glass box extension in Leicester. The triple glazed extension is complete with a structural glass roof that natural light flows through to highlight the bespoke timber flooring.

The same herringbone style floor finish has been used inside and outside the minimal glass extension to create a sense of continuity, merging indoor and outdoor environments thanks to the flush threshold detail of the biparting sliding doors.

 

Another example of a roof overhang with timber cladding on the underside is Sweethaws, where IQ designed and installed a bespoke glazing package to enhance the timber detailing.

The bespoke architectural glazing elements were lined up with the timber exterior design for a seamless finish, using both horizontal and vertical sections for a modular approach. Large picture windows sit within the timber detailing, using timber cladding to conceal the fixing details of the frameless structural glazing.

 

The technical team are on hand to discuss specification, design and how timber detailing should be aligned with the glazing.

Get in touch with us to discuss incorporating timber cladding with architectural glazing in your next project.