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A pottery studio, jewellery workshop, glazed link, storage rooms, wood store, garden store, and kiln room, built in 2019 by Hartwyn in Suffolk. It's constructed of timber frame, with limcrete foundations, straw bales for insulation in the workshops, natural fibre insulations in the roof, and earth floors over recycled foamglas insulation. It's finished internally with clay plaster and externally with timber cladding, except for the glazed link (or cuisine d'ete) which has a roundwood frame, brick floor, polycarb roof, and 'mandarin' lime render on the couple of straw bale workshop walls, creating a gloriously Mediterranean-inspired outdoor dining space. 

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We are delighted to have worked on this renovation and extension of an old thatched cottage in a rural part of the South Downs National Park, near Petersfield. The work involves the demolition of part of an old 1950's extension, and a new extension using natural and locally sourced reclaimed materials throughout, following breathable building techniques. Reclaimed materials were used for: windows, shutters, doors, timber cladding, plain clay roof tiles, floorboards, timber posts & beams, furniture and joinery.  

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The new extension is designed to be very modest and secondary to the original thatched cottage. The client was inspired by outbuildings and studio-workshops, and it has been a pleasure designing the spaces with her rather than simply for her and her family. The new accommodation provides two small bedrooms and bathrooms, as well as a glazed link space, named 'the coffee shop'. 

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The Sawmill House is an exciting proposed new-build house in the countryside, although gaining planning permission is proving a challenge. The proposed 3 bedroom house is for a family who manage an estate and yurt business in the South Downs National Park.  The design is based on the two forms of the existing disused sawmill and intersects them to create a dynamic form with sloping roofs covered in wildflowers and solar panels.  The first floor is to be vertically clad in natural timber sourced from the estate to reflect the surrounding woodland, and 'floats' on a light ground floor of white lime rendered straw panel walls and glass doors that open up to allow the internal spaces to flow outside.  Two local-stone clad walls extend out further connecting the house to the garden, forming the kitchen garden wall.  

A central internal rammed chalk wall features in a double-height space in the heart of the house, linking the two 'wings' together and providing a natural thermal store.  The overhang of the first floor provides solar shading in summer to the glazed rooms below, and shutters are integrated all round to ensure minimal light pollution at night.  The old Victorian coldframes are restored to include a greenhouse and the old boiler house restored as a potting shed.  The property will be heated from a biomass boiler using timber from the estate, and solar thermal panels for hot water.  The aim of this project is to use natural low-impact materials to create a unique and inspiring home that is in tune with it's environment and that encourages a sustainable lifestyle.  

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This eco-housing development is a way of providing low-cost housing in the rural village of West Marden in the heart of the South Downs National Park.  The housing will be built using local, natural materials, with involvement from the local community.  We have consulted the local Parish Council, had pre-app advice from the South Downs National Park Authority, we've had a community engagement day and done a presentation to the SDNP Design Review Panel. 

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The average house price in this village is currently over £750k. This proposal is for 10 modest cottages, at least half of which will be affordable housing for local people.  The development is likely to follow a CLT (Community Land Trust) model, and includes a shared green space for use as a small park, playground or community orchard, which will help connect the new housing with the existing village community. 

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This purely conceptual design shows a more contemporary style house using natural materials, with flat green roofs and a 'box' form for the first floor sitting above a light and open ground floor.  The house has a mixture of very open and quite enclosed spaces, and creates a central courtyard which connects all the spaces together.  Although the ground floor has a lot of glass, the over-hanging upper floor and pergola provide shading in the summer to prevent over-heating.  In the winter the building benefits from solar gain as the glazing captures the lower sun.  The orientation to the sun is very important to this scheme.  The annex and greenhouse can be removed or altered to create a simpler and more open feel.  The house could be constructed from natural materials, such as timber, hempcrete or straw. 

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This is an example design of a simple three bedroom house.  The design uses a simple layout and form, following the orientation of the sun for maximum efficiency.  The walls could be made of straw bales for super insulation and clad in timber, with a timber shingle roof.  The south side of the building is fully glazed, but with a strip of solar panels providing some summer shading as well as power.  Part of the veranda is glazed to give shelter to the indoor/outdoor space, and part of it is fully enclosed with single glazing to create a greenhouse space. 

This kind of house could potentially be constructed for between £100k - £150k, yet it provides high quality, efficient, healthy and long lasting living spaces, with a low impact on the environment.  

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This project was for a small office at the bottom of a garden near Haslemere, with an outdoor kitchen connected to the house.  The office design has loadbearing strawbale walls and a shallow depth green roof suitable for wildflowers.  This flat roof option meant that the building would be under 2.5m high which is within permitted development.  The outdoor kitchen has now been built and we had a great time helping with the cob over construction course, however, the client unfortunately decided not to go ahead with the office building due to personal reasons. 

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The existing site for thie project is an old garage / workshop, part of which is in a state of disrepair.  The proposed development replaces the existing building with a one bedroom annex, keeping the existing concrete slab foundations.  The design maximises views, solar gain and daylight, despite being a difficult site, and provides a comfortable living space for the client's elderly relative. 
Unfortunately, the client decided not to continue battling for planning permission with this project, as the planning restrictions of the National Park were too challenging.