Summary
Eco House

Location
Westbury Sub Mendip, Somerset

Concept

The brief was to create an Eco House (annex) to a grade II listed farmstead in the beautiful Somerset Mendips. The clients wanted ultra-modern sustainable accommodation to move into, allowing their family to take over the main farm house.

Planning was going to be a challenge, as the local planning authority were against the idea of more buildings being added to the site. Our strategy was to overcome this was to create an exemplar of modern sustainable design; that was both discreet and sensitive in approach.

We used the existing site landscape and recessed the accommodation into the adjacent hill side, creating a subtle design with distinct modern character. The Eco House takes advantage of the existing slope to create an offset split-level section, thereby minimising the building mass. A stunning external terrace, accessed from the first floor bedroom, overlooks a formal courtyard and the Somerset Mendips beyond.

The design integrates sustainable technology to minimise its carbon footprint. This includes ground source heat, transparent photo-voltaic rooflights, a grey water system, MVHR,  a super-insulated envelope and passive cooling.

The Eco House successfully gained planning and listed building consent at its first attempt and was commended by the local authority planning team for the quality of the design.

The stunning design was used as an exemplar in the Architects Journal Retrofirst campaign which champions reuse in the built environment.

Team

Client: Private
Architecture: Smith Maloney Architects Ltd
Conservation Specialist: Aspect360
Structural Engineer: DHD Structures
Services Engineers: Max Fordham
Landscape Architects: LTstudios