Set amongst mature oaks and London Plan trees in Cambridge’s countryside, The Haven is a private country retreat defined by timeless elegance and quiet luxury.    

Designed by LAD Architecture and built by Higgs Building Co, this expansive new home has been carefully composed to embrace the landscape while ensuring complete privacy – creating a sanctuary of calm and refinement with seamless indoor-outdoor connections.  

At the heart of the home are exposed timber trusses designed by BSK Consulting Engineers and crafted from Prolam Visual PL8 Beams. Spanning the main living areas, they create a sense of warmth, scale and purpose – transforming the interior into a space that feels both refined and relaxed. 

As Natasha Amarasekera of LAD Architecture explains, the intent was to achieve an open ceiling with a natural, rustic feel – something that could only be realised with exposed timber. 

Custom manufactured from visual grade glulam stained with a richly hued Resene Woodsman Cedar Natural Wood Oil, the trusses deliver both structural performance and a high-end architectural finish. Their strength and straightness allowed for clean, uninterrupted spans, and a precise and seamless installation. 

This same attention to detail extends beyond the home’s interior to the pergolas and portico that define its façade.

Several timber pergolas, also constructed from Prolam glulam, form the home’s outdoor living areas – framing sun-soaked spaces. Painted white to contrast and complement the home’s palette, the pergolas provide structure, shelter and a strong visual connection between inside and out. 

For the design and construction teams, the versatility of Prolam’s range played an important role in the process. 

The ability to specify visual grade glulam for both interior and exterior applications gave the team confidence they could achieve a consistent, high-quality result across the entire build – working with a single, trusted supplier.

For builder, Kyle Dusevich from Higgs Building Co, it’s the reason he keeps coming back to Prolam glulam: “We always use Prolam glulam. I enjoy working with it”. 

The Haven is a home where structure and design work as one. From the warmth and presence of the interior exposed trusses to the elegant outdoor pergolas, Prolam glulam delivers a solution that is both beautiful and durable – engineered to perform and crafted to be seen. 

“The exposed timber trusses were central to the design vision, and using visual grade glulam allowed us to achieve that in a really refined way. The final result exceeded our expectations and they’ve become a standout feature of the home.”
-    Natasha Amarasekera, LAD Architecture

Get the look

Interior – Exposed Trusses
•    Prolam Visual PL8 Beams
•    Sizes: 290 x 88, 315 x 88, 140 x 88 (truss webs)
•    Treatment: H3.2
•    Finish: Machine Finish
•    Coating; Resene Woodsmand Cedar Wood Oil 

Exterior – Pergolas
•    Prolam Visual PL8 Posts 
•    Prolam Visual PL8 Beams
•    Sizes: Posts – 240 x 240; Beams – 240 x 90
•    Treatment: Posts - H5, Beams - H3.2
•    Finish: White Dulux Paint System 
•    Fixings: Simpson Strong-Tie Concealed Beam and Joist Ties

Design tools and support

Log in to the Prolam Specifier
Request an Exposed Truss or Pergola Design Service

Images courtesy of Higgs Building Co