We were approached by our client to design a contemporary one-off house specifically for accessible use for a couple who are moving from a Grade II Listed 17th Century Farmhouse due to the requirements of one of the occupants who sadly suffered a stroke in 2018.

A contemporary response to the site that is within the greenbelt and the Chilterns AONB. It is located on the site of an existing dilapidated property and our vision is to create a high quality proposal that places accessibility, design and sustainability at the top of the agenda whilst respecting and improving the setting and responding to the local context with regard to materiality and siting. The proposals make use of local flint and timber, whilst large expanses of glazing open up to the naturalistic landscape setting.

We have created a low-lying pavilion that adopts a passive approach to sustainability. Our first principles were to exploit energy by having naturally shaded and fully glazed elevations, that will avoid overheating in summer and yet utilise solar gains in winter and include a highly insulated building fabric. The scheme utilises a green roof to minimise any visual impact of the proposal, reduce rainwater run-off and provide increased biodiversity of plant life and an additional habitat for wildlife.