A custom-built detached home situated on a peninsula in a secluded lagoon, and featuring JB Western Red Cedar Shingles from Marley Eternit has scooped a number of leading industry awards. Located in the Norfolk broads, Britain’s largest protected wetland, Backwater, which was created by, Platform 5 Architects, is made up of three self-contained modules. Each individual module is further complemented by the cedar-clad pitched roofs found at the front of the property.

The unique home, which is surrounded on three sides by water, was awarded a RIBA East Award 2017, which celebrates the building’s regional importance as a piece of architecture. Further testament to the property’s striking design, Backwater was also crowned Custom and Self Build Project of the Year at the 2017 Structural Timber Awards, which celebrates expertise in timber and its continued contribution to the built environment.

The bespoke brief, together with structural requirements which required all materials used to offer lightweight properties, meant Marley Eternit’s JB Western Red Cedar Shingles were the obvious choice to create a textured roofscape which seamlessly blends in with the natural surroundings.

The JB Shingles, which are Certi-grade accredited as ‘Blue Label’ by the CSSB (Cedar Shake and Shingle Bureau) were specified as they guarantee the highest quality shingles and are PEFC accredited. Furthermore, the majority of the shingles specified were also treated with MicroPro®, a clear treatment which not only protects against wood rooting fungi and insect attacks, but also lets the shingle weather naturally without any staining sometimes associated with other treatments, and can deliver an extended life span of 40 years.