TWO SUSTAINABLE HOUSES

Our clients, two doctors, bought a derelict bungalow in a disused quarry. Their initial thoughts were to demolish the house and build a new house. However, the site had potential. It has a good slope with views to a distant hills and was big enough for two houses. With limited funds we convinced our clients that they could invest in building and selling one property in order to fund their dream home. The site was landlocked by surrounding big detached houses, which overlooked their land, so our idea was an unconventional solution by  partly burying the houses into the sloping quarry, and creating a series of garden roofs which were disguised as garden terraces. Above these terraces floats the sloping roofs of solar panels and extra living accommodation. The planners over ruled local objections, commenting that they rarely see such originality coming before their committee, and recommended it for approval.

Unfortunately due to health reasons, our clients could not continue with the project, and the land with planning permission was put up for sale without their 'dream' home ever being built.