The design for this new house was all about the views and its rural setting.

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Theo Green Designs were engaged by the clients in early 2015 to design a sustainable replacement dwelling. The fabric of the existing building was in a poor condition and not suitable for renovation or conversion so replacing the dwelling was the only real viable solution. The site is in an elevated position with views over the rolling hills down to the Jurassic coast.

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​The brief was to design a modest and energy efficient new home that would take advantage of the sea views from the site and the south-west facing aspect. It was also very important to the clients that the building was going to be appropriate to its rural setting and sit comfortably on the site. We designed the house to work with the site topography and make use of the space below the house created by stepping the plan.

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The house is traditional in its form and character with a simple palette of materials that reflect the sustainable ethos of the building. It's visibility from the Iron Age hill fort of Lamberts Castle was a major consideration in the design, needing to ensure it was low key in the landscape. British larch cladding has weathered to a soft grey to ensure that this has successfully happened. Flint is used for the ‘plinth’ to anchor the house into its sloping site and natural slate is used for the roofing. Passive heat gains from south facing windows have helped this building to have extremely low energy requirements.