New three bedroom detached house to replace existing house

The site is situated within a well developed housing area but is directly adjoining the New Forest Park Authority. As such, prominence is given to the design in relation to the views from the National Park. An initial design for the house was for a reasonably conventional two storey rectangular house with dual pitched roofs set parallel to the boundary with the adjacent house. Feedback from the planning officer raised some concern with the height of the house as seen from the adjacent National Park and the relationship to the swimming pool in the adjacent garden. The revised deign reduced the height of the house by using a steeper pitched roof with lower eaves level without significant loss of headroom. The area of the house covered by the pitched roof was also reduced to less than half the width with the remaining roof covered by a very low pitched roof which relates to a dormer roof arrangement but in this case covering the full length of the house. The advantage of the arrangement is that there are no reduced height ceiling levels to the front area and the constructional and energy efficiency are simplified and made more efficient that a conventional dormer arrangement would be. The house is also rotated from the initial position to be at an angle to the boundary which reduces both the potential overshadowing of the swimming pool but also brings the orientation of the main facade closer to south facing which increases the solar exposure of the main windows. Advantage is taken of the views out from the house by the use of first floor doors opening onto a balcony which also acts to control high level summer sun.

The form of the house provides a compact volume to floor area which assists with the energy performance and together with the high levels of insulation and levels of airtightness envisaged aims for a low energy house designed with the option of achieving the Passivhaus standard.

The materials have been selected to relate to the surrounding area most notably the rendered walls of the adjacent house are echoed in the first floor walls adjacent to this boundary and the ground floor of the house with the upper walls of the house facing the National Park being clad in vertical timber boarding. The latter is included to reduce the visual impact of the house by the colour of the timber and the vertically relating to the surrounding trees which form a significant screening of the house. Roofs in the area are of a variety of types ranging from slate, through interlocking concrete tiles to plain clay tiles. The latter have been selected to provide a quality finish to the pitched roof facing the neighbouring houses with the very low pitch being formed in weathered zinc alloy. The junction between the two roof planes provide screening for a range of solar panels to both provide for hot water and a contribution towards the house electricity usage.

The new house is complete and has been certified as meeting the Passivhaus standard.