Hope Villa - A Super Sustainable Home

Operational energy is 31 kWh/m2/yr, well below the RIBA 2030 target. The home is a one-off, historically detached between a typical terrace and mid-century infill housing. Planning constraints suggested potential in height (vs floor area) and this was embraced to create a dramatic double height sitting room. The new architecture enhances the original home's massing with an innovative design that ‘resolves’ the previous extension’s awkward sloped form. This extension was stripped back, with steel frame and groundworks retained, and remodelled with a highly insulated warm deck roof, with re-used roof lights, supporting a new tiered rooftop allotment garden. The small patio was infilled with a double storey height space punctuated with large special windows. Thick timber framed construction is highly insulated and clad with Accoya timber battens. A new bio-diverse ‘rain garden’ leads to the timber framed garden room. Wellbeing is promoted with a bio-diversity net gain; all flat roofs have a variety of gardens installed and all rainwater collected for garden use. The project retains all historic high carbon construction from previous extension work. The new construction is almost entirely timber frame with minimal steelwork and ground works due to the small footprint added, sustainable and robust Accoya timber cladding is used throughout to promote carbon sequestration. The financial constraints of the project were navigated responsibly. The kitchen, although proprietary IKEA, was retained and partly re-clad to tie in with the new scheme. Even windows that were incorrectly ordered by the contractor were used by fitting them upside down! As part of this phase of works the gas supply was removed, an ASHP installed, and a 15kW battery was put in place to maximise efficiency of the solar panels (installed 2011).