The Duckeries

Stunning Norfolk Eco Home

Tasteful development in the countryside for self builders is one of our strengths. This fantastic home has been designed to the Passivhaus standard. Passivhaus is a method of design that carries the very highest level of ecological performance and energy efficiency. Renewable energy is used alongside high levels of insulation to ensure that heat loss through the structure of the building are avoided.

Many people think that energy efficiency is the only benefit of this approach, this however is not true. Occupant comfort standards are just as important. The problem with many "Eco homes" which do not benefit from this design approach suffer from overheating. The Passivhaus standard places great emphasis on avoiding this where possible.

The Duckeries is contemporary in design, yet inspired by traditional rural architecture, the form of this self-build dwelling was based on a traditional longhouse, a house type built throughout rural Britain for centuries, which uses a simple gable volume and narrow plan. This leads to a pleasing and familiar building form with a modern twist.

The dwelling is laid out over two parallel, offset, pitched-roof structures, connected by a single storey link. The choice of natural timber cladding on the majority of the buildings, with a contrasting slate appearance to the third range connect the house to its rural context and help blend in with the appearance of agricultural buildings in colour and texture, whilst establishing a crisp and modern point of difference in the overall aesthetic.

Paramount to the clients brief was to create generous interlinked living spaces on the ground floor whilst maintaining relationships with the landscaped garden. These were designed in such a way that the modern living spaces have a visual link to the immediate landscape whilst retaining a degree of understated and reserved style to the principal elevation.

This is a true self-build, with our client putting many hours into the build to achieve his lofty goal.

The net result of this is a very green property which has at least a 75% heat demand saving over a very well constructed standard new build house. This means that running costs are significantly lower than a standard property, and that no fossil fuels are used to provide energy for the project.