Heron Way
"We are very much enjoying our new home... It looks good, inside and out, and has drawn many comments from neighbours, passers-by and even delivery drivers!"
— Client
Client: Philip and Anne Pascal
Value: £400,000
Time: 2017-2020
Status: Completed
Location: Horsham, West Sussex
Burgess Architects has designed this new build low energy house on the edge of the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Responding to the client's priorities there is a strong focus on reducing energy use, and we have designed a flexible home to suit their very active life in retirement which will be easy to maintain and suit changing needs as they get older too. It will operate just as well when children and grand children come to stay or with just the two of them in normal use.
From the road it presents a sympathetic addition to the area, sensitively echoing local roof forms and suggesting a more 'cottagey' scale reminiscent of traditional buildings of Sussex. A subtle crank in the building line draws the visitor to the front door and hints at the more contemporary open plan layouts inside. To the rear, the roof is drawn almost to a single storey height, making a very modest neighbour to the next door school and the gardens of other houses.
Sustainability and responsible use of resources have underpinned the design throughout. The new house features passive design with carefully positioned windows to maximise daylight whilst avoiding over-heating, triple-glazed windows and a highly insulated and air-tight envelope coupled with mechanical ventilation with heat recovery. Detailed energy modelling has been carried out to determine the most energy efficient mode to heat the house and hot water needed. Carbon accounting will be used to evaluate the design as the construction methods are finalised, looking at the craddle-to-grave energy profile, considering everything from the embodied energy of the materials selected, to energy in use, and at the end of its life. The scheme includes on-site generation of electricity with a 5kW photovoltaic array and an electric car charging point.
