new sustainable country house at Stroud

project

The brief was to design a new farmhouse for a rural property in Stroud. The house is self supporting in terms of water, electricity, heating, and sewerage. The strategy of construction was aimed at facilitating an owner built design and achieving a lot of space economically.

click on the image above to download a quicktime movie (77kb) of the house. (Download Quicktime here)

description

An economical prefabricated steel structure is first erected on a concrete platform, then the roof is put on to provide shelter for work to continue underneath. The walls are made of straw bales which are rendered both sides. Straw is an excellent insulator and gives the house thick walls and deep window seats.
There is a large 'outdoor room' which looks into the bush beyond and has a large wood burning fireplace for winter nights.