The site for this project was an extensive rear garden tucked away behind a row of cottages. The gardens ran through the middle of the village of West Buckland, near Bantham in South Devon. With a separate access into the long gardens, and by working closely with the Parish and Planning Authority, we were able design a low energy dwelling to sit in the beautiful orchard, providing a large 4 bedroom contemporary family home within this charming coastal village.
The house draws on surrounding buildings for contextual design references: The reclaimed local slate roof and first floor walls reflect the historic use of slate across the first floor of adjacent cottages. The hipped roof draws on the form of the stone barns on the village lane that runs past the site. The design then blends these with contemporary detailing, simple bold design ideas and modern spatial arrangement to create a large light filled family home that sits comfortably in the village location.
As a new build there was an opportunity to design to super insulated standards, with triple glazing, renewable heat pump technology and mechanical ventilation with heat recovery making this an exceptionally low energy design. This offers the new owners a chance to balance rural family living with modern low energy standards creating an extremely comfortable home.
