With over 20,000 self-build homes a year, Britain is fast casting a continental eye over its custom constructions, with a growing preference for glass-fronted timber frames over traditional bricks and mortar. Ever since seeing the German custom-build house on Grand Designs, I've been fairly in love with this prefab self-build style of home. Huf Haus is one of several UK-based companies offering such constructions, with precision-cut kits of German extraction shipped for assembly right here to these shores.

Huf Haus offer architect or self-designed custom timber post-and-beam-style houses, prepared in Germany by experienced craftsmen and constructed on land purchased in the UK. Typified by the speed and expertise with which they are built, these tailor-made houses are quickly becoming a popular choice for a beautiful, custom-built home. Once a plot of land has been purchased, the company will oversee the entire project, from conception to construction, with the final product nothing short of a unique structure, beautiful both inside and out.

Huf Haus doesn't come cheap, though, at between £130-£150 per sq. ft., with a 3,400 sq. ft. house costing around £500,000. However, you do get the whole package, workforce included, and a complete build within four months.

Contact or visit Huf Haus online at www.huf-haus.com/gb for more information. 

Whomever termed 'square' a word for dull frigidity has obviously never laid eyes on Werner Aisslinger's Loftcube. These individual life units take into consideration the dual purpose of the needs of urban dwellers and the use of their environment. Aisslinger's concept works on the principal of wasted city living space and can certainly be viewed as a relatively 'green' answer to urban overpopulation by making use of existing, unused spaces.

Aisslinger's recognition of modernity in urban dwelling, the lifestyle needs of the contemporary city-dweller, has been met in Loftcube. Pure sanctuary bodes harmoniously within city space, providing minimalist habitation within urban sprawl. Simultaneously secluded and yet open, Loftcube exists as a seemingly contradictory anomaly, though one which meets its remit with success and originality.

What is the essence of Loftcube? Cubed simplicity sits atop an existing building, providing the inhabitant with an unrivalled panorama. Within the unit, pared-down open-plan creates space within space as ample rooftop sunlight fills the cube from every side. Aisslinger's vision of a suburban rooftop 'neighbourhood' could well be realised with living thus, a sprawling microcosm of city life. Loftcube - the quintessence of cubist living.

For more information or to place an order, visit Loftcube online at www.loftcube.net