DRP Architects - DRP Architects completes award-winning
ECO-House on challenging central Brighton 'Brown Field' Site
On 28 June, 2007, an award-winning
new eco-house at Whichelo Place, Hanover, Brighton,
designed by local firm DRP Architects, will be handed
over to the client.
In the £200k project, the respected Brighton firm of
architects has designed a two bedroom timber framed
house that exceeds the Building Research Establishment (BRE)
'excellent' rating in energy saving and carbon
reduction. In view of its exemplary 'green' features,
the house has already won a 'Green Apple Silver Award'
in the 'National New Build Residential' category, June
2007.
In the project, which started in summer 2006, DRP has
used a whole range of eco technologies and materials -
including passive solar gain, a green roof, locally
sourced sweet chestnut cladding, lime based render,
solar hot water heating, grey water recycling and
sheep's wool insulation. The result is a house with a
low carbon footprint.
DRP is never shy of a challenge and the Whichelo Place
site certainly provided one; with a triangular piece of
'brown field' leftover ground sloping between two
streets of terraced housing in Brighton's popular
Hanover area. Clever thinking was required to design a
house that would fulfil the client's brief and also
achieve planning permission - which meant that the new
build must be no higher than the surrounding garden
fences. Instead of looking down on to unattractive waste
land, neighbours now cast their eye over eco-friendly
grassed roofs.
The house is designed with the orientation of the sun in
mind to make the most of solar energy, and site is
enclosed by two terraces that create a building with two
clear axes. Each axis has a different function: the
living spaces are deployed in the north/south axis,
while the bedroom, utility room, entrance space and
storage are in the east/west axis. The 'spare' areas
between the building and its boundary form small,
intimate outside spaces for the living room and
bedrooms, making intelligent use of the triangular site
without any wastage.
The living space is the highest part of the house and
features a large, sliding roof light and sliding,
folding doors which make the space especially light and
airy. The bedroom wing houses the bathroom and a 'study
corridor', designed for sitting with a book from the
built-in library. The house also features a utility room
and second bathroom adjacent to the main entrance. It
has gated entry from the street, a car parking space,
provision for wheelchair access and a cycle store - also
with a green roof.
Simon Atkins, the DRP director responsible for the
Wichelo Place project, comments: "Our client is as keen
on sustainable architecture as we are. This drove the
layout of the scheme and selection of materials from the
start. The result is a fine balancing act that optimises
all available space at the site while simultaneously
meeting the needs of the client, local residents and
Brighton & Hove Council's planning department. If more
new houses like this one were built, Brighton and Hove
would seriously reduce its carbon footprint while the
population would enjoy lower energy bills."
Email:
olli.b@drparchitects.co.uk
Arundel Jones Associates Ltd
Hill Farm, Linton Hill, Maidstone, Kent ME17 4AL
Tel : 01622 745333
news@buildingdesign.co.uk
Registered in England and Wales No. 07334149
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