To design an exceptional, highly sustainable and energy efficient new home that is in harmony with the surrounding ecological environment, and encourages native species and wildlife to thrive. For the building to incorporate renewables and be able to produce more energy than it consumes.
The project is an amazing opportunity to not only bring a derelict piece of land back into use, but also show how houses can be sustainably designed for the future. Through thoughtful design we have been able to achieve significantly lower operational energy use and embodied carbon than our original aim of the RIBA 2030 Target, as well as drastically lowering CO2 usage compared to the average UK home. One cannot build an isolated home in the countryside at whim, instead this application has had to go through the stringent regulations of Paragraph 80 (formerly 79) to prove its very being.
The landscaping designs were the lead approach to ensure the new dwelling sits harmoniously within the landscape and the ecology of the site. Due to the sheer scale of the site, we have deemed that it will become a nature reserve rather than a bio diversified garden, as once natural species, flora and fauna have moved back in and developed, it will be a tranquil oasis for nature to really thrive. The piece of land, now scrub land, was once an army camp adorned with Nissen huts. These are long since gone, but the footprint of the huts creates a grid which will be used within the project as a nod to the memory of the site’s former usage.
