Project Name: The Float House

Location: London, United Kingdom

Design Team: Tigg + Coll Architects

Floor Area: 4m x 20m

Completion: 2024

Photography: James Retief

Landscape Design: Topia Landscapes

Main Contractor: Stella Rossa

Structural Engineer: Engenuiti

Marine Engineer: Marmus

Client: Phil and Narinda Desrosiers

Feature: TiggColl Architects has completed The Float House, an innovative modular floating home on the Grand Union Canal in Ruislip, northwest London. The spacious and accessible family home combines contemporary design with advanced technology, pushing the boundaries of sustainable, water-based living. TiggColl was approached by the client to design a new bespoke home on the water to replace their existing canal barge, which lacked the living space and accessibility requirements for a growing family with changing health needs. Allowance for future level access was central to the brief, as was having a property which sits above the water. Unlike traditional canal barges, where the internal floor level is below the water line, leading to cold and damp conditions. Crucially, the family wished to remain within a cooperative of 35 houseboats at a private residential mooring at Hampton Hall Farm, in a beautiful but confined location.

Creating a spacious family home with a connection to nature. Inside, The Float House offers contemporary living spaces, thoughtfully designed to maximize the use of space and natural light. Expansive windows provide stunning views of the water and surrounding landscape, creating a serene and inviting atmosphere, giving the family an immediate connection to the water while maintaining privacy and security. The Float House's external elevations are clad with horizontal Accoya timber slats, a sustainable and durable material selected for its waterproofing qualities and its ability to weather naturally with the adjacent bank, providing a dynamic appearance that works in harmony with its surroundings.

An exposed timber internal structural frame provides continuity and combines a contemporary and pared-back aesthetic with a warm, calm, and natural feel. The home is fitted out with high-quality, understated materials and finishes, including engineered oak flooring, a sleek black painted kitchen with Dekton worktops and appliances by Hacker. The ambitious brief was to create an open-plan family living space, a main bedroom suite, two children's bedrooms, and a shared family bathroom, all within a plot size of 4m x 20m, dictated by the canal width, passing distances, and the length of the mooring. The design team used cantilevered window bays to create additional worktop spaces within the kitchen and bed spaces within the children's rooms. Along with integrated ventilation panels and solar shading, the expressive window bays define the bankside elevation of the home.

Designing on the water: Prefabrication and a modular design. Access to the Grand Union Canal in this location is restricted by low bridges, both upstream and downstream. Due to the absence of a dry dock or quayside, traditional methods of maintenance, such as removing the houseboat by crane, were not feasible. In response, TiggColl collaborated closely with a marine and structural engineer to develop a unique system of 10 interlocking steel hulls secured together by a gantry. Each hull section can be individually floated away from the gantry and lifted to the canal bank, making maintenance straightforward and manageable, without the need for extensive infrastructure. Working with Bucklands Timber, TiggColl created an expressed structure throughout the boat, following a similar systematic approach to construction. Once the floating chassis was assembled and launched onto the water, the skeleton structural frame was quickly installed on site, minimizing the need for construction on the water and disruption to this canal boat community.

David Tigg, founding director, TiggColl, said: "The Float House is a testament to how creative thinking and innovative technology and engineering can overcome natural constraints, and meet a family's specific needs. We hope that it will become a prototype for creating enjoyable and sustainable living environments in difficult-to-reach canal, river, or lake locations."

Rachel Coll, founding director, TiggColl said: "Our ambition was to create an accessible family home that maximises the limited space available, while making sure that the houseboat touches the surroundings with a sense of lightness, bringing nature, reflectivity and sunlight as close as possible. It is a home designed for embracing nature and facilitating modern family life, on the water."

Narinda Desrosiers, owner of The Float House, said: "We wished for a home that was beautiful and practical for a family of four, that would also accommodate my future health needs. Starting this new build was a huge leap of faith, but we never gave up hope that our vision was achievable. Thanks to the unwavering commitment of TiggColl and the team of engineers involved in this project, we have a home that has surpassed our dream: peaceful, surrounded by nature, with breathtaking views out across the water."

Design Team: Founded in 2008, Tigg + Coll Architects has established itself as a leading London-based architecture and design studio committed to creating buildings and spaces where people feel more connected, happier, and more human. Led by founding directors David Tigg and Rachel Coll, alongside associate director Manuel Gonzalez Nogueira, the practice brings together a collaborative team of over 30 professionals who combine imaginative design thinking with technical expertise and cost-effective solutions.

The firm's portfolio spans diverse typologies, from award-winning bespoke residential projects to co-living, build-to-rent, private rented sector, and student housing developments, as well as community, cultural, and workplace schemes. Their design philosophy centers on careful listening, craftsmanship, and exploring innovative approaches to architectural challenges. With studios at Addison Studios on Blythe Road in West London, TiggColl has built a reputation for transforming complex constraints into opportunities for exceptional design.

The practice's multidisciplinary team includes senior architects, project architects, and architectural assistants who share a commitment to well-lived lives and creating environments that enhance daily experience. This collaborative approach, combined with their dedication to technical rigor and material sensitivity, enables the studio to deliver projects that balance aesthetic ambition with practical functionality. Through their open-minded, knowledge-driven methodology, Tigg + Coll Architects continues to push boundaries in contemporary architecture while maintaining focus on human-centered design that genuinely improves quality of life.

The team includes founding directors David Tigg and Rachel Coll, associate director Manuel Gonzalez Nogueira, senior associate Paul Colfer, associate Alex Antoniou, and experienced professionals such as senior architects Gabrielle Greer, William Breislin, Melanie Rich, and Will Field. Based at Addison Studios in London, the firm employs between 11 and 50 staff members, specializing in architecture, interior design, interior architecture, concept design, and feasibility studies.

TiggColl believes that at the heart of architecture is designing for life. They are committed to creating spaces that make people live better, feel more connected, and more human. Whether it is an award-winning one-off family home or a large-scale residential development, the practice maintains attention to detail, appetite for innovation, and deep understanding of client needs. Their team is open-minded, imaginative, and led by a lust for knowledge and exploring new ideas. They are natural listeners and collaborators who care about craft and technical expertise while understanding the importance of cost-effectiveness. By coming together, they create places that make life better.