{"id":634110,"date":"2026-04-27T13:10:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T13:10:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/634110\/"},"modified":"2026-04-27T13:10:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T13:10:12","slug":"musson-brown-architects-and-miltiadou-cook-mitzman-complete-flatpack-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/634110\/","title":{"rendered":"Musson Brown Architects and Miltiadou Cook Mitzman complete “flatpack” home"},"content":{"rendered":"

UK studios Musson Brown Architects and Miltiadou Cook Mitzman have completed a courtyard home in Newcastle, which was constructed using a prefabricated structure<\/a> of cross-laminated timber<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Located in the Newcastle suburb of Jesmond, the 420-square-metre home was designed for a retired couple who wanted a peaceful retreat from the city, which informed a U-shaped layout enclosing a green courtyard.<\/p>\n

Replacing a derelict 1980s building on the site, Musson Brown Architects<\/a> and Miltiadou Cook Mitzman<\/a> (MCM) designed the home with a “flatpack” cross-laminated timber (CLT) structure, which was fabricated off-site in order to minimise waste, construction time and carbon emissions.<\/p>\n

\"ExteriorMusson Brown Architects and Miltiadou Cook Mitzman have completed a cross-laminated timber home in Newcastle<\/p>\n

“This project integrated a ‘flatpack’ approach, which involved using a cross-laminated timber structure that was precision-manufactured off-site and assembled on location,” Musson Brown architects founder George Musson told Dezeen.<\/p>\n

“While this required extensive preparation at the technical design stage, it was incredibly satisfying to see it come together to form a cohesive structure.”<\/p>\n

The simple, rectilinear volumes of the home were then finished in a palette of red brickwork, weathered steel and glass, in a contemporary take on the Edwardian architecture that defines the surrounding neighbourhood.<\/p>\n

\"HomeIt is finished in a palette of red brickwork, weathered steel and glass<\/p>\n

“The opportunity lay in rethinking the site entirely, transforming a poorly performing structure into a coherent, high-performing home that enhances both its immediate setting and wider context,” the studios told Dezeen.<\/p>\n

“The design is organised around a courtyard, establishing a spatial and environmental anchor that brings light, landscape and ventilation deep into the plan,” they added.<\/p>\n

\"HomeThe living spaces overlook the central courtyard<\/p>\n

The home’s living, dining and kitchen area overlooks the central courtyard through full-height windows and sliding doors, which open out onto a paved patio beneath a timber pergola.<\/p>\n

On either side, two wings contain a double-height entrance foyer, snug and study to the east and two bedrooms and a gym to the west, with both also having access onto the courtyard.<\/p>\n

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Neil Dusheiko Architects extends Cambridgeshire home to frame neighbouring church\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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The main bedroom suite and dressing room is positioned on the home’s smaller first floor, where a short glazed link passes a rooftop terrace to connect with an additional bedroom and utility space.<\/p>\n

With aging-in-place in mind, the home’s ground floor was made fully accessible, and a lift created alongside the study to the north of the home.<\/p>\n

The red brickwork of the home’s exterior is complemented by elements in weathered steel, which was also used to cloak a rooftop plant room.<\/p>\n

\"DiningWhite surfaces and pale timber floors define the interior<\/p>\n

Inside, white surfaces and pale timber floors contribute to what the studios described as a “deliberately restrained” palette, with fittings that focus on flexibility and longevity.<\/p>\n

\u201cClean lines and an abundance of glass were used throughout to seamlessly connect the property to its tranquil courtyard garden,” Musson said.<\/p>\n

“High ceilings and open-plan rooms invoke a calming energy which is mirrored in the solid wooden floors and Scandinavian-inspired furnishings,” he added.<\/p>\n

\"InteriorThe home’s two wings contain a double-height entrance foyer<\/p>\n

Other CLT homes recently featured on Dezeen include a lakeside home in the Hudson Valley by nArchitects,<\/a> which features exposed CLT interiors, and a modular house in Brazil<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The photography is by Richard Chivers<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"UK studios Musson Brown Architects and Miltiadou Cook Mitzman have completed a courtyard home in Newcastle, which was…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":634111,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[449,458,459,64,63,87981,79873,460,134,61745,61746,235519],"class_list":{"0":"post-634110","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-au","12":"tag-australia","13":"tag-british-houses","14":"tag-cross-laminated-timber","15":"tag-design","16":"tag-entertainment","17":"tag-sectionall","18":"tag-sectionarchitecture","19":"tag-sectionexclusives"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/634110","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=634110"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/634110\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/634111"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=634110"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=634110"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=634110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}