Linking past and present
This lead and glass link uses the classic method of transparency to connect and distinguish between an old and new building.
The Bristol Housing Festival
The second year of the Bristol Housing Festival is now underway and Charlie will be speaking at the Self Build and Community Led Housing event there tomorrow. The Festival is supporting the building of new communities across the city of Bristol through an…
The HexxHome Show Home
We’ve been working with HexxHome on designs for a show home at the Graven Hill self build community village near Bicester. Our 3-bedroom Hexxhome concept uses a patented prefabricated build system which is perfect for prospective custom build home owners.…
Sketch scheme
One of the first stages of work we carry out for clients will be a feasibility study to explore options in response to a brief. These images are the result of working up the preferred option as part of a…
Project completed
It was very exciting to re-visit this recently completed project and see how the clients have settled into their new home. Even better when they’re so happy with the results. Click here to see more about this extensive sustainable bungalow renovation…
Nearing completion
This project next to the woods just south of Oxford is nearing completion. The wood cladding is looking very fresh but the untreated white cedar shingle on the lower half will fade to a pale white colour and the larch…
Oxford Green Week
This week is Oxford Green Week . A city-wide festival which uses culture, creativity and community to inspire local people to take action against climate change. Charlie is joining with Transition by Design, an architecture and design co-operative to talk about sustainable architecture…
Small but perfectly formed
We’ve been working on a small extension project to an old school house and the extension building is finally going up. It replaces a previous extension and attempts to create a more sympathetic addition as well as improve the flow…
Clearing the way
Clearing work has begun to prepare the site for this exciting new-build in the woods. Originally the canteen building in the grounds of a school, it will be removed and replaced by a modest, low energy home for a local…
Completed project
We are very pleased to have finished a major restoration project of an eighteenth century Grade II listed farmhouse in Oxfordshire. The farmhouse and associated buildings including a cheese-room had sat unoccupied for fifteen years and were in need of…
Harnessing Solar Energy
As Charlie’s own self-build project progresses, he is posting blogs on the Homebuilding & Renovating website. This month is topically, all about the solar panels. Solar thermal panels have been mounted on to the roof to use the sun’s energy…
Ideal Home Show
The Ideal Home Show is currently in residence at Olympia in London until next Monday 2nd April. Charlie will be there this coming Saturday talking about sustainable housing and high quality residential design.
Sheepfold appears in Coast
One of our completed projects appears in the March issue of Coast magazine. The Sheepfold and its annex the Sheepshed were bought at auction with only the remnants of their previous occupants and the external walls remaining. They have been carefully renovated…
Innovative Insulation
At our own project here in North Oxfordshire, we’ve employed a clever technique for insulating the outside. This involves creating a continuous layer of insulation therefore reducing thermal bypass. More details can be found here on Charlie’s Blog at Homebuilding & Renovating , along with other posts…
Air Tightness
We endeavour to design and detail buildings with a high level of airtightness. Having an airtight house means that its thermal performance is much more efficient with the warm air being unable to escape through the building fabric. It’s still very…
Re-store
This cottage near Burford has been re-roofed, re-pointed and under-pinned. Short of being totally re-built, the corner of the building has been removed to make way for a large window opening for what will become the snug. The concrete slab for the extension…
Homebuilding & Renovating Show
The Homebuilding & Renovating Show is back in London at the Excel Centre between 22nd and 24th September. Charlie will be in the Self Build Theatre at 12.30 giving a Beginners Guide to Building a Low-Energy Home, then again at 2pm, with A Step-by-Step Guide…
House in the woods
We have just been asked to produce a concept design to transform a dated 60’s detached house into a contemporary family home. Sitting on the edge of a wood provides a great opportunity for new living spaces that really engage with the…
Windows go in at Greyfell
The windows are now in at Greyfell! (formerly Old Lodge Barn). The earlier design time spent positioning windows has really paid off now that the framed views across the countryside have been realised. Externally, the well crafted (and almost complete)…