Six to ten metres wide. Solved.
Marvel Homes builds custom homes on narrow Sydney lots, typically 7 to 10 metres wide. Narrow-lot design has three distinctive constraints: daylight penetration, passive solar orientation, and side access for construction. Each has an answer that doesn't require a compromise on Passive House performance, but the answer is specific to the lot, not generic.
Book a design consultationDaylight, orientation, access.
Daylight
Without skylights, a central void or careful window placement, the middle of a narrow house is dark. Our answer is a skylit atrium or central void that doubles as a thermal chimney.
Passive solar
Narrow frontages limit north-face glazing unless the block is ideally oriented. PHPP modelling captures solar gains even with sub-optimal orientation.
Side access
Walls close to boundaries limit scaffolding and crane positions. Construction sequencing is planned during pre-construction. Steel structure or tilt-up methods are used where boundary proximity rules out conventional scaffolding. For the opposite shape, wider than deep, see wide shallow block house designs.
Skylit atriums, PHPP-modelled glazing, sequenced construction.
- Skylit atriums or central voids that act as light wells and thermal chimneys.
- Glazing strategy modelled in PHPP to capture solar gains even with sub-optimal orientation.
- Construction logistics planned during pre-construction, using steel structures or tilt-up panel methods where boundary proximity rules out conventional scaffolding.
Frequently asked
- 6 metres wide is feasible with the right design approach. Below 5 metres, other options should be considered first.
Book a design consultation.
Send the narrow-lot address and any existing concept plans. We'll come back with a candid view on what's possible and what it will cost.