A new-build, four-bedroom family home with stunning views over Stroud.  A tight budget and a desire for a very low energy home drove the design resulting in a simple rectangular plan that exploits the steep drop across the site. The roadside approach leads to a single-storey with a double storey facing out to the Five Valleys view. Super insulation, triple glazing, airtightness and MVHR based on Passivhaus principles have created a building that costs less than £100/year to heat the space. Concrete blocks to provide thermal mass, are wrapped in 300mm of insulation and finished in reclaimed Welsh slate and English cedar cladding.  This combined with 5mm aluminium cowls create an affordable, simple, modern vernacular home.

Internally, raw power floated cement floors contrasted with highly finished Douglas Fir and ply joinery which challenge the idea that low energy means no style!

The wonderful client documented the process, warts and all in her blog, futuresimplepassive.blogspot.com. The project also featured on Building the Dream on More4.

Photography – Mark Bolton Photography