The new home on the edge of the village
Bright open plan living space at first floor
Development sketch exploring materiality
“This was an exciting project and a lovely site to work with. The big challenge was to make the building work to Passivhaus standards even with the large north-east facing windows that make the most of the amazing views. The construction, undertaken by the self-build clients, has been a labour of love that has produced an excellently built and beautiful home. Passivhaus certification is a well-deserved cherry on top that recognises their hard work and attention to detail. ”
Homelands Passivhaus | Dundry
Client: Private Client
Replacement home in a greenbelt location on the edge of
Dundry village. gcp designed this private home to Passivhaus
standard, and to be easy to construct for a client who wished to
build the house themselves.
Built using an insulated concrete form-work system by Nudura
and finished with local stone excavated from the site, the house
has been constructed with fantastic care for detail. A good
indicator of this quality came on the build's first air-tightness test,
where it achieved 0.45 ac/h - well below the Passivhaus target of
0.6ac/h.
With photo-voltaic panels providing renewable electricity, grey-
water recycling, and heating provided by a thermal store charged
from periodic firing of a wood-burning stove, the home is
designed to provide near off-grid independence for future energy
security. gcp was able to provide a design solution which took
full advantage of northwest views whilst still meeting the
stringent Passivhaus requirements.
Services provided: Feasibility, Planning Stage Design, Planning
Application, Detailed Design, Passivhaus Design, Energy Strategy
“Our home has been a massive change from the house we had been living in. It’s draft free and very quiet, with outside noise massively reduced.The temperature of the house has been very constant. Not too hot or cold.
[...] Living with MVHR is a great experience, we are only just able to hear it when we’re very close to it.The ventilation works efficiently...in the kitchen..and the bathroom.”
The stone used in the build was all excavated from the site
The Passivhaus takes advantage of views to the northwest
“Our home is a massive change from the house we had been living in, it’s draft free and very quiet. The house has performed amazingly since we moved in and living with the MVHR has been a great experience, the entilation works efficiently with no sound of extract fans running and the electricity bills are significantly reduced.
[...] The temperature in the house has been very constant, not too hot or too cold and we love the great living spaces and amazing views across Bristol.”