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Roof turns new home green in more ways than one
ON a hillside above the moorland village of Thurlstone, the curving roof of a cedar-clad, super-efficient home rises into the skies above the Pennines, bringing a new dimension to the traditional farming community.
Its unique and stunning lines are the result of the first solo project of 33-year-old architect Andrew Brown, who represents the third generation of his family to have a hand in what has happened on the site in Rockside Road.
For decades, it had belonged to Mr Brown's grandfather George, a former miner who lived there in a bungalow and ran a market garden in between his shifts at nearby Dodworth colliery.
When he died, the site passed to Mr Brown's father Roger, 62, an engineer, and he saw an opportunity to make the most of the land, which commands superb views down the Don Valley and towards Emley Moor.
"When my dad asked me to design a house for him and my mum, I was still working in London," said Mr Brown, who studied at Huddersfield University and has now set up his own Yorkshire-based practice DesignSpace.
"When I sat down to look at the project, I realised the bungalow was just not making the most of the site. It was very basic, had just two bedrooms and you couldn't see the views from the windows.
"The design was based around the views, and we agreed on an upside-down house, so the bedrooms are downstairs, while the living area is on the first floor with a huge picture window out over the moors."
The house has also been designed with the environment in mind, and a living "green roof" which was shipped in from Holland has just been laid, with the aim of blending the building into the rolling hillsides of the area.
It is also super-insulated and air-tight, with a heat recovery system which drags warm air from hot areas such as the kitchen and bathrooms and recycles it into cooler areas of the house.
Yorkshire stone has been used as the main building material, with Canadian red cedar from sustainable forests used for the cladding. The footprint of the original bungalow has been used to form the new house.
Mr Brown added: "My dad has done all the building work himself. He and my mum have been living in a caravan for months. We were hoping to extend the old bungalow but when we started looking, we realised it had no footings.
"That put us back a couple of months, but other than that it has been relatively trouble free. The green roof is made of tiny sedum plants, which reduce rainfall run off and rainwater is recycled for watering the gardens.
"The entire building is designed to reduce energy usage, and in the last run of cold weather we had, it was still very warm and cosy in here."
The house is as arresting inside as it is out, with an oak and sycamore staircase which seems to suspended by the thinnest of wires and a double-height kitchen and dining area, which has a window into the upstairs living room.
There is also a south-facing terrace on the first floor with huge folding doors which will completely open up the house in the warmer summer months.
Mr Brown's mother Linda, 58, a housewife, said she was delighted with the work her husband and son had carried out on her new home, and added that she was now looking forward to a long and happy retirement there.
She added: "We were a bit worried about what some of our neighbours would think, but they love the place and some have even been round to find out who the architect is.
"We have also had friends round, in fact some friends have helped Roger with the building, and they all think it is fantastic."
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Weather for Yorkshire
Saturday 26 May 2012
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