Henning Stummel’s Tin House

With the objective of creating a cohesive construction that forms a dialogue with the warm, earthy London stock brick of the surrounding buildings, architect Henning Stummel created the Tin House.

Both the roof and façades of the Tin House are made from GreenCoat PLX Pro BT, which features a patented, Bio-based Technology (BT) coating using a substantial portion of Swedish rapeseed oil. Furthermore, the Tin House utilizes many traditional tinsmith details for a modest and utilitarian finish.

7 questions for Henning about GreenCoat as a platform for award-winning constructions:

What are the benefits of using the GreenCoat PLX Pro BT material?

• In the case of the Tin House, we began by looking at all materials. What was important was ensuring that we could get a colored finish that would be long lasting – something that wouldn’t fade – in order to preserve the unique look for decades to come. The fact that GreenCoat PLX Pro BT features a coating with environmentally friendly properties is an equally important benefit. 

Why did you choose steel for the roof and façade and not other materials?

• Steel has the lowest expansion co-efficient compared to aluminum, copper and even zinc. This makes the material extremely durable and ensures that it will not deform over the years.

What were the challenges you had to overcome while designing the Tin House?

• The main challenge was building a house without gutters. On the courtyard side, water comes straight off the roof and goes into a drainage strip. The other side of the house has a boundary wall. For this we used concealed gutters as well as a Swedish detail, where a roof gutter is tucked under the strips that come down, so that water still drains completely on the property. Since GreenCoat PLX Pro BT is easy to form, we were able to obtain the desired rainwater function and style.
  
  

What can you tell me about the quality of GreenCoat in general?

• It is a great material and I am very much satisfied. GreenCoat PLX Pro BT could be easily cut and formed to create custom details on the non-rectangular buildings.

What makes GreenCoat a more sustainable material?

• Normally, paints include fossil based oil. The paint used on the Tin House includes a substantial portion of Swedish rapeseed oil, which is unique on the market. It was important for me to place a sustainable focus on the choice of material. 

Do you have more examples in which GreenCoat is being used?

• Yes, we are currently working on a housing scheme for a number of small affordable houses to be built in a suburb of London. We plan to use GreenCoat PLX Pro BT for the roofs.
  
  

How do you feel about being nominated to the WAF?

• Obviously it is really exciting. When you have a good project that is worth submitting, it feels good to be nominated. I don’t know what to expect other than to confront some very reputable projects from the other nominees. My specialty is to work with small spaces in cities that are already completely built-up. Hopefully, my style will also be competitive for this award.
  
  

The Tin House is currently nominated and awarded for:

• Finalist: BD’s Architect of the Year Awards 2017, UK – Individual House
• Finalist: World Architecture Festival 2016
  
  

• Winner: RIBA London Award 2016
• Finalist: RIBA National House of the Year 2016
• Finalist: Stephen Lawrence Prize 2016