SOMERSET SELF-BUILD

hen Paul and Vivienne Lower

Wfound a house for sale in 2013, they were attracted by its sheltered location. It stood on a hillside in Exmoor National Park, hidden from view by leafy hedgerows and tall trees. ‘The site is two minutes’ walk from the village, but it’s completely private,’ says Vivienne. ‘Even people who had lived in the area all their lives didn’t know of it.’

The couple, who are both in their fifties, had recently retired from careers in the video-gaming industry. ‘We were based in London for most of our working lives, but have been holidaying in this part of Somerset for around 20 years,’ says Vivienne. ‘We used to have a second home in the area, so we’ve got friends nearby and we wanted to make a permanent move to Exmoor one day.’

The house they bought was a chalet-style bungalow built by the previous owners. ‘We couldn’t decide what to do with it,’ says Paul. After weighing up the practicalities and cost of upgrading the property, they concluded that knocking it down and starting again was the only way to create a home more suited to the beautiful landscape.

Paul and Vivienne began searching for an architect familiar with designing for Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and found Glasgow-based Daniel Bär. ‘He shared our thoughts on architecture and design, favouring

The house nestles into the contours of the hill and has pale brick walls to minimise its visual impact

A run of built-in storage hides the TV, with recessed shelving beneath to display artwork and sculpture BELOW The glazed pivoting front door is sheltered by a porch. A black lacquered timber panel disguises a store cupboard

Paul and Vivienne stayed at their London f lat throughout the build. ‘We came down every month for a site visit, but the whole process was remarkably problem-free,’ says Paul. ‘Our builder worked really well with Daniel, and that made everything very simple.’

The timber-frame structure took ten months to complete. Clad in white brick, it features large expanses of glazing and a single-ply membrane roof that includes several roof lights. ‘It is essentially a pavilion,’ Daniel explains. ‘The front and back walls of the property are a mirror image of one another. When the two sets of glass doors on opposite sides of the building are opened, you are basically under a roof in the garden.’

Because it’s sheltered by the hill and close to the sea, the site has its own microclimate that helps to promote outdoor living. ‘It never gets too hot or too cold,’ explains Vivienne. ‘Even in the winter we rarely switch on the heating as the sun’s warmth through the glazing is sufficient. We have a ground-source heat pump and

LEFT Rooflights ensure the guest en-suite bathroom is bright and airy. The vivid green mosaic-tiled walls offset the white fittings RIGHT There are two guest bedrooms at the opposite side of the house from Paul and Vivienne’s room. The photograph on the wall is by Sarah Foskett

‘Even in the winter we rarely switch on the heating as the sun’s warmth through the glazing is sufficient’

solar panels, but we pretty much forget about them. It’s an extremely practical and energy-efficient house.’

Inside, the layout is very straightforward. An openplan living, dining and kitchen area is f lanked by two bedroom wings. Paul and Vivienne’s en-suite bedroom is to the east, with two guest rooms to the west. When required, both wings can be shut off from the living space by pivoting doors.

Simplicity was also a theme when it came to the material choices. ‘The white bricks make the house disappear against the sky, so the building has minimal impact on the landscape,’ says Paul. The interiors have plasterboard walls and concrete f loors, both of which are painted white. This creates a gallery-like effect, ref lecting the green of the surrounding landscape and the light, which bounces in from the water feature outside and changes throughout the day. ‘We felt we didn’t have to paint the walls in different colours,’ says Daniel. ‘The sky and the landscape add all the interest.’

The design of the house has been such a success that it is held up by planners as a positive example of how to build a contemporary home in the national park. ‘If you want to make the most of a countryside plot, build the simplest house possible,’ advises Daniel.

Skyhouse in Sussex is an A+ EPC-rated property producing more energy than it consumes

A S M A RT M OV E

Use technology to increase your home’s energy efficiency with this advice from Baufritz

Creating an energy-efficient home poses a set of challenges which can be addressed by using smart technology. All houses need to breathe. Once all the draughts and thermal bridges have been removed, different approaches are needed to manage ventilation. The inclusion of a mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) system manages air flow while minimising heat loss. By including sensors within the house you can make sure that ventilation is efficiently managed.

Modern houses can optimise solar gain by using the sun as a heat source. But in summer, when the sun is strongest, there is a risk of overheating. By including a smart shading system, which can be programmed to reduce the effect of the sun, it’s easy to maintain the ideal temperature. During the colder months, when solar gain is at its lowest, all but the most energy-efficient houses require additional heat sources. As long as a house has excellent insulation, ground- or air-source heat pumps can deliver zero-carbon heat.

By including solar power and photovoltaic (PV) panels in its houses, Baufritz offers an alternative approach to reducing a building’s energy consumption. A normal domestic PV should deliver around 3.5kWh of electricity per year, which is roughly 50 per cent of the average household’s consumption. Providing your house is energy-efficient, PV can generate more than enough electricity for your needs.

As homes have become more digitalised, smart devices can work together to control the systems required to run them. It is very important to bear this in mind when designing your new home. Think of it as a single integrated ecosystem, and include a services layer built into the fabric, then the sky’s the limit.

TOP Smart technology ensures the homeowner is in control ABOVE Services should be built into the fabric of a home

● For more information, call 0 12 2 3 2 3 5 6 32 or visit b a u f ri t z . co . u k