Project Brief
Type: Residential
Area (m2):
Budget: £1.4 million
Features: Wildflower Green Roof, Super Insulated Twin Skin Timber Frame, GSHP, MVHR
This stunning house has been designed to complement the landscape within an AONB. When viewed from the Camel Trail the building is sited below a Grade II Listed dis-used Windmill which is sited on the brow of a hill within a field some 230 metres above the site. The field boundary and site boundary have established hedgerows forming a dark horizontal band when viewed against a green field below and a light-coloured field above. In order to blend the proposal into the landscape a single storey linear form with dark cladding and large overhang to glazed areas was conceived. This stealthy concept allows the new building to visually merge with the dark hedgerow and therefore not detract from the di-used windmill. Unfortunately, this replacement dwelling will be appreciated by few as it is accessed via a quiet minor road and has been designed to be very sympathetic when viewed from the Camel Trail. The house features a twin skin timber frame to enable a super insulated breathable structure. The walls are insulated with recycled newspaper insulation. The fabric has been designed to be air-tight to reduce heat loss and draughts. Glazing and rooflights are triple glazed to minimise heat loss. The hot water and heating are provided by a ground source heat pump (GSHP) which has ground loops buried in the field below, with heat distributed throughout via underfloor heating. The humidity is moderated by a mechanical ventilation heat recovery (MVHR) system which recovers the heat from extracted air and provides filtered fresh air throughout the house. Provision has been made for photovoltaic collectors which will be sited on the flat roof. The rest of the roof is covered with wildflowers helping to disguise the building within the landscape when viewed from the road. The cladding is locally grown Larch.