5 amazing SIPs home designs

While they’re often sold on the benefi ts of clean lines and easy detailing, it might surprise you to know that pre-fabricated building methods don’t have to result in predictable architecture. Anything but, as the projects on these pages demonstrate SIPs are very e ible and can be used in combination with any e ternal cladding. Brick, render, weatherboarding, brick slips a quick-fi t tile-like system , stone the list goes on. Similarly, up top, the roof can be finished with tiles, slates, metal, shingles and more. Pretty much any house design can be realised in SIPs, but you’ll be able to access the system’s full potential if you engage with a supplier from the early architectural planning stages. There are no limitations to SIPs designs, and homes don’t have to be bo y and boring, says Ian Clay, partner at SIPS@Clays. If either you, your architect or SIPs designer has the vision, then almost anything is possible. A lot of that comes down to the system’s strength-to-weight performance enabling fully load-bearing panels of up to 7.5m in length.

One of the great design advantages of SIPs is that you do not need to incorporate trusses to support the roof of the house. This gives you the option to easily create airy, double-height feature zones think lofty hallways, and dining areas complete with fully glazed gables . It can also enable e tra accommodation in the attic all in the form of a pre-insulated warm roof structure. Nowadays, open-plan living is very popular and many of the self builders we work with are looking to create a feeling of space by opting for higher ceilings, says Derek McIntyre, SIPs director at JML SIPs.

Below left: The Robinsons had to deal with some onerous planning constraints on their project, including reducing the maximum ridge height of the roof by a metre. In these situations, every little helps – and SIPs Eco Panels’ high-performance system helped save precious build-up height in the asymmetric roof design, while enabling stunning vaulted spaces

Left: The Jays’ home is a fantastic example of SIPs’ capacity to marry energy e ien y ith striking design. Unconventional angles and shapes add wow factor, enabled by the SIPs system, supplied and installed by Potton

Above & left: Designed y an or e d Architects, this lowenergy project in Fife is the Build It Awards Best SIPs Home 2022. The 306m2 house features double height zones, including a stunning curved hallway, framing views of the sea beyond and hosting a sculptural staircase. The SIPs kit from SIPs Industries features 217mm-thick panels to maximise insulation. It took just 15 days to manufacture and a further 15 to erect on site

Above & left: The client’s vision for completely open-plan areas and vaulted ceilings made SIPs an ideal choice for this 263m2 project. SIP Build UK completed the detailed design, engineering and installation. The 172mm-thick panels deliver a U-value of 0.15 W/m2K in a slender wall thickness, about 150mm thinner than would be necessary using traditional materials