Hale House Passivhaus

Case Study

Hale House Passivhaus is a traditionally styled home that demonstrates Passivhaus’ can be designed in any architectural style.

Susanna approached us toward the end of 2015 with a design she had already developed with an architectural designer. She had planning permission in place to demolish an existing bungalow on site and replace it with a new bungalow. The design included a basement, integral garage and a room in the roof.

This original design had been partially future proofed with the potential for a downstairs bedroom, bathroom, accessible room and capacity for a live-in carer. However, as the original design wasn’t developed with Passivhaus in mind it didn’t offer the comfort and fuel security that might be required in later life.

As the original design wasn’t developed with Passivhaus in mind its shape or form factor meant that it would have been very costly to meet the Passivhaus standard. The basement was also a very expensive solution to address space requirements. So, Susanna made the decision to redesign the building, keeping the elements that appealed most to her. As the site bounds an area of outstanding natural beauty, in a well-established village it was very important to Susanna that her new home was sensitive to its surroundings.

The original design had gone through planning without any problems, so we had good reason to be positive that the updated design would be an acceptable amendment. Unfortunately, the planners felt the new design’s ridge line was too high and required some alterations to the front gable to make it less prominent. We worked with the planners to achieve the desired ridge line, while ensuring that Susanna gained permission for the home she wanted. After some back and forth with the planner a crown roof (flat top to the pitched roof) was suggested and agreed as an acceptable solution along with adding a hip to the front gable roof and relocating it slightly. The flat topped hipped roof sensitively masks the presence of PV whilst allowing the home to sit comfortably next to its neighbours.

Once planning was granted for the new design, it was time to get into the detail design stage, but this stage can only begin after a lot of questions have been answered. Susanna did a lot of research so that she could make informed decisions about her home. Some decisions are quite practical, for example it was agreed to go down the timber frame route as it is generally the easiest way of achieving an airtight construction, especially with more complex shapes. Other decisions may be a little more challenging. Susanna had long expected to have a wood burning stove in her sitting room as a focal point. Solid fuel burners are still an option in Passivhaus, though choice is limited a little on style so that airtightness is not compromised. As she learnt more about Passivhaus, Susanna understood that putting in a specialist Passivhaus stove and flue would be unnecessary and expensive, so she opted instead to utilise the views out to the landscaped garden as the focal point for the room.