Jacob's Ladder is the grand design of David and Shelley Grey, and the genius of awardwinning London-based Irish architect Niall McLaughlin, whose impressive portfolio includes Serge Chermayeff 's socialist pleasure palace in Bexhill-on-Sea and the ARC in Hull, the UK's first purposebuilt architecture centre.

"He was the only architect who seemed excited about the build, " remembers David Grey.

"We'd lived in a perfectly proportioned Georgian rectory, so we were looking for something different. Niall came to the site and we talked about what we wanted and what we liked, citing the Eameses' Californian Case Study houses as particular favourites."

McLaughlin's brief was to "make a house to look out of, that would act as a frame for the woodland". The original 1920s house (built for the Dean of Windsor, hence the biblical name) was demolished in 2000 and the final piece of glass was polished into position the following year. It has since achieved architectural 'superstar' status through a string of book and magazine articles as well as a Royal Institute of British Architects award and a Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland award.

Set on a slope, Jacob's Ladder is entered via a raised walkway to the first floor where the harmony of materials is striking. The warm, ship-lapped Douglas fir has the hue of autumn leaves and reflects back into the woods off the polished steel fittings and galvanised frame. The glass . . .

which appears to be everywhere . . . literally mirrors the surroundings, softening the structure's impact and creating a way through to the trees and valley beyond.

The sensory experience continues with circles and squares that puncture the entrance space. Initially, your eye is drawn in every direction, but the focal point becomes obvious when the view across a reflecting pool to the valley beyond reveals itself. Every angle becomes a borrowed view. The sky is drawn down through a porthole and doubled in size by the glass-smooth pool, while the soft fringing of the woodland frames the distant fields and horizon. Pastoral and abstract, this is one big view as if painted by Gainsborough and Ben Nicholson.

A double bedroom, set apart from the other accommodation, is accessed from this entrance terrace, as is the front door. A Mies van der Roheinfluenced stairwell, encased in sandblasted glass, curves away as you walk in. Further along this top-lit hallway is the main bedroom with en-suite bathroom and private terrace. This 24-foot long room is a private eyrie from which to view everything . . . only the thinnest of glazing reminds you of the barrier between inside and out.

"Because we are completely screened, there are no curtains anywhere, " laughs Grey.

"Not even in the bathrooms."

Descending the stairs brings you to the drawing room, which extends up into a void that offers the biggest view yet of the outdoors as well as slices of rooms yet to come. The walls act as dividers, not full stops, on this level, pulling up short of actually joining together and creating a myriad of routes between the kitchen, dining and drawing rooms and on to the wraparound terrace.

McLaughlin retains one more surprise. Next to two more bedrooms, a pair of doors unfolds to reveal an infinity pool. Sitting below the external reflecting pool, this inside space bounces light, sky and trees around its shimmering surfaces. Swimming in this pool must feel like a voyage through the trees.

Apart from some formal areas immediately next to the house, most of the grounds are woodland.

"We've thinned the trees slightly now to open up the view, but we wouldn't have built this house if the site had been more exposed, " says Grey.

"We're on a bit of a crusade about contemporary houses now and are moving to the Antipodes to build something similar. We get asked what we'd change, but we wouldn't change anything . . . we both love this house."

Jacobs Ladder is for sale through Savills on 0044-1491 843 000. If you fancy something similar contact Niall McLaughlin at www. niallmclaughlin. com