As a break from our usual architectural wizardry on display on Archiblog, we’re having a look at the other end of the spectrum. The Low Impact Woodland Home has to be the ultimate eco house. Designed and built by Simon Dale and his father-in-law, plus ’some passers by’, this compact family home took 4 months and just 3,000GBP to build. Given the high cost of even a small apartment nowadays, that figure is just incredible.
Resembling a small Hobbit house from Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, the house was constructed using as many sustainable materials from the site as possible and was dug into the side of a small hill and covered with a layer of turf to lower the impact on the surrounding area.
The eco features of the house include:
- Dug into hillside for low visual impact and shelter
- Stone and mud from diggings used for retaining walls, foundations etc.
- Frame of oak thinnings (spare wood) from surrounding woodland
- Reciprocal roof rafters are structurally and aesthaetically fantastic and very easy to do
- Straw bales in floor, walls and roof for super-insulation and easy building
- Plastic sheet and mud/turf roof for low impact and ease
- Lime plaster on walls is breathable and low energy to manufacture (compared to cement)
- Reclaimed (scrap) wood for floors and fittings
- Woodburner for heating - renewable and locally plentiful
- Flue goes through big stone/plaster lump to retain and slowly release heat
- Fridge is cooled by air coming underground through foundations
- Skylight in roof lets in natural feeling light
- Solar panels for lighting, music and computing
- Water by gravity from nearby spring
- Compost toilet
- Roof water collects in pond for garden etc.
Personally, I think this house is great. The exterior blends into the surroundings seamlessly and the interior looks cute, cosy and perfectly liveable. It’s eco features are second to none. Whilst it’s great that architects and designers are utilising and employing green energy products, this house takes the eco-living concept to a different level.
You can visit the site and find out how it’s done as Mr Dale has been kind enough to give a complete (although by architectural standards incredibly sketchy) guide on how to build one of your own. Also something of an eco-pioneer, the site also features videos of Simon talking about not only the how, but more importantly the why.
Probably one of the coolest projects I’ve seen in a long time.
