Awarded the coveted ‘Residence of the Yr’ title in The Each day Telegraph Homebuilding & Renovating Awards 2023, Duncan and Anaya Bush’s self-build home close to Milton Keynes is a masterclass in home design.
Fitted with a bunch of inexperienced applied sciences, this smooth timber-clad constructing is without doubt one of the most eco-friendly homes you are prone to come throughout. The couple took a hands-on method at each stage of the construct, all of which happened within the midst of the pandemic.
Beneath, they share their self-build journey and provides us an unique look inside one in every of Britains finest properties.
Our ‘Residence of the Yr 2023’ is revealed
With their kids having left house, Duncan Bush and Anaya Janjuha had been ready to maneuver to Woburn close to Milton Keynes, an space they each beloved. They initially had concepts of shopping for a renovation undertaking however selected to go all out for a self-build and subsequently started their seek for probably plots.
“We determined to search for bungalows as they typically have bigger plots — a backyard and inside/out connection was vital for us,” says Duncan. “Additionally, we wished to keep away from the conservation zones within the space and knew that getting planning for constructing on an present plot could be simpler.” Having discovered an ageing bungalow that was ripe for demolition, they offered their home to assist fund the undertaking and moved into rented.
The couple opted to deal with the undertaking on two simultaneous fronts — the home construct and the landscaping. Provided that landscaping is all too typically an afterthought within the housebuilding course of, what prompted the pair to provide this facet equal significance? “With the wellbeing of the entire house in thoughts, we wished an actual connection between inside and out of doors,” says Duncan. “This method provided sensible advantages, too. The land on the again wanted levelling however the home is sort of a slim plot so as soon as the home was constructed it will have been tough to have gotten heavy equipment in there.”
The construct required a lot of ahead planning
Concurrently formulating plans for the encircling land with Marcus Inexperienced Design, Duncan and Anaya had been working intently with Charlie Luxton Design to create a home that met their exacting calls for for house, fashion and sustainability. “As empty nesters, we seen this as the possibility to construct a house for the subsequent half of our lives — someplace that allowed us to have a reset,” says Duncan.
From the off, the undertaking was designed with planning in thoughts. “With a mixture of housing varieties and supplies round, we knew we had some leeway with the fashion of the home,” says Duncan. “The primary issues had been the dimensions of the footprint in relation to the bungalow we wished to demolish and the ridge peak of the encircling properties. By being conscious of this and submitting a pre-planning session we achieved planning permission with minimal points.”
“The visible design facet was crucial to us as we each like fashionable structure and had been after a house that veered away from conventional fashion,” says Anaya. And probably the most evident instance of the couple’s keenness to depart from the standard is the form of the home itself. “The preliminary spec that we gave to the architects was that we wished a picket field and Charlie Luxton Design thoughtfully pared it down just a little to provide us totally different ranges, with a number of of the sharp edges taken off,” provides Duncan. “Additionally by having a flat roof upstairs it meant we may have full peak upstairs with out going above the ridge line of the homes round us.”
Duncan and Anaya had been very hands-on
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With development underway, the couple took an lively method, managing the project themselves with a group of subcontractors. ‘Our principal jobs had been to handle staff, supply supplies, maintain the location tidy and pay the payments!” says Duncan. “This method led to a couple gray areas between trades however we had been fortunate sufficient to have a terrific group of tradesmen who labored collectively to resolve these.”
Duncan and Anaya had purchased the plot in February 2020 and so the pandemic had an inevitable damaging impression, with the pair experiencing a scarcity of supplies and a hike in costs. A results of this was many further hours spent researching and sourcing different supplies, which proved much less disastrous than it may have been. “In truth, we completed the undertaking earlier than inflation began and so these costs don’t look so dangerous now!” says Duncan.
The home is so hermetic it would not want heating
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In addition to nice design, sustainability was at all times on the coronary heart of this construct. The constructing was thermally modelled utilizing PHPP to analyse the steadiness of heat loss and warmth good points. “We specified MBC Timber Body’s Passivhaus commonplace body and insulated raft slab together with triple glazed windows, doorways and rooflights,” says Duncan. “Excessive ranges of thermal efficiency for all of the constructed components, along with Passivhaus ranges of airtightness meant we had been capable of forgo the inclusion of central heating or underfloor heating. The one manner we may really feel assured in taking this method was by working with an power guide to precisely mannequin constructing efficiency.”
The identical thermal modelling enabled them to precisely assess the administration of overheating, which was important contemplating the massive areas of glazing on the southwestern aspect. Power is usually generated from a photo voltaic array, which is then saved in a Tesla Powerwall, powering not simply the dwelling areas, but additionally an electrical car charging level. Different options embody low-energy lighting and home equipment, a photo voltaic retailer for decent water and exterior photo voltaic shading to mitigate overheating.
Interiors had been thoughtfully thought-about
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Maybe greater than most, the pair put loads of thought into the interiors. “Popping out of our earlier relationships, we each felt we wished to declutter our lives and create a extra minimalistic inside,” says Anaya. “We performed with proportions all through the home — excessive ceilings, giant inside doorways, giant home windows, floor-to-ceiling mirrors, low-level furnishings, minimal architraves and skirting boards – all of which give a way of house all through the home
Duncan continues: “There’s additionally a psychological component to it — the soothing white-painted partitions (VOC-free paint, after all) and the abundance of pure mild, join with our tranquil outside house, and create a calmness that’s actually vital to us.”
The couple say that when family and friends go to, probably the most remark is how peaceable it’s right here. However there’s an excellent better endorsement of the success of this house, as Duncan explains: “Due to our MVHR, our air is continually filtered and when ‘Nani’ comes to go to, she tells us she hardly wants to make use of her bronchial asthma inhaler.” That’s nice validation.
Passivhaus planning bundle
In any other case often known as PHPP, the Passivhaus Planning Package was used to analyse the warmth calls for of Duncan and Anaya’s would-be house – however what precisely is it?
PHPP is modelling software program developed by the Passivhaus Institute and is used when designing energy-efficient buildings to calculate their operational power use and carbon emissions.
The software program, based mostly on Microsoft Excel, can be utilized to tell the design of each new buildings and power environment friendly renovations and is the place to begin for designing and constructing an authorized Passivhaus or EnerPHit house.
What does it measure?
PHPP Can establish gaps in in any other case energy-efficient designs, and offers confidence that efficiency targets can be obtain on the finish of the construct by closing the hole between predicted power use and real-world efficiency.
To make sure each chance as been lined, PHPP modelling must be carried out at three key levels:
- Early design feasibility
- Detailed design stage
- Technical design stage
PHPP modelling could also be undertaken by your architect, or by a sustainability knowledgeable or guide will work alongside your architect to make design selections working assumptions to make sure all facet of the spreadsheet have been taken under consideration.