01494 778787
01494 778787
This low-energy home, based on a traditional Suffolk Longhouse, is designed for easy living with a connection to the outdoors. Architect Matt Plummer tells us about the property and why he and his clients chose an Urban Front door.
Project details
Architect: Matt Plummer, Cocoon Architects
Door: Urban Front E98 Passive Porto in oak with lacquered finish (1040mm wide x 2200mm high)
Handle: Urban Front Option 8
Side lights: Triple-glazed side light by Urban Front
Lighting Designer: Claire Spellman Lighting Design
Landscape Design: Teasels Design
Passivhaus Planning Package: Green Peaches
Contractor: BSSR Ltd
Heating and Ventilation specialist: Naked House
What was the brief for Long House?
To create a low-energy comfortable home to support a love of gardening, socialising, hosting family gatherings and watching sports. Our clients may experience mobility challenges as time goes on so that was part of the brief.
How did you meet the brief?
The request for low energy and high comfort led us to suggest a Passive House approach. The main house provides a vaulted entrance lobby with bespoke staircase, a library ‘nook’ to one side and bedrooms above. The flat roof ‘pavilion’ to the rear includes an open-plan dining area, plus kitchen and living areas. A bedroom and ensuite beyond provide a ground floor living option. The social areas spill directly onto the south-facing terrace and lawns. High levels of insulation and air tightness are provided by the prefabricated and fully-insulated timber panel system.
Please tell us more about the low-energy nature of this property.
The house uses a Mechanical Ventilation with Heat recovery system (MVHR) connected to a 3000 litre thermal tank. The tank is connected to the solar panels on the roof and the log burner in the library. Log burners produce too much heat for Passive House properties so this system features a 9kW log burner, which only emits 1.5kW to the room, while the rest is saved in the thermal store for use as domestic heating and hot water. A PV array supports electrical consumption including car-charging.
What was your vision for the entrance to the property?
We used timber cladding to create a porch, which together with the chimney stack, marks the main entrance. The cladding blends with the Urban Front door. The quality of the door is exceptional, both from the aesthetics and tactile qualities through to the air tightness and sense of robustness.
What was the biggest challenge during the planning?
The biggest risk was the plot’s position because it’s centrally located between five different listed buildings. Both the clients and I are from Suffolk, and we share an enthusiasm for the Suffolk Longhouse. This is a traditional vernacular building form that starts as a simple single-storey space with a central fire and spaces for family and cattle at either end. Over time, the building grows in layers vertically.
We love this form for the story it tells and also the sustainability benefits of the property being so simple – easier to detail, to build, and to keep warm. We represented the layering over time with various bands of brickwork to the elevations, plus the cattle area was conceived as the timber-clad section with garage and plant room. The central chimney stack rises through the vaulted entrance space to the apex.
Our approach meant there was strong support from the local Conservation Officer despite the prominence of the site near the listed buildings.
How were challenges during the build overcome?
The builders, BSSR Ltd, were the true heroes of the project. Long House was delivered during lockdown with all sorts of exceptional pressures. There were also challenges such as creating the veneered-ply ceilings. BSSR took all of this on and delivered extraordinary results.
What’s your favourite part of the finished property?
Long House always feels warm, bright and airy, even on miserable days, thanks to the views of the garden, the quality of the finishes and the delightful lighting scheme, which picks out architectural features such as the veneered pavilion ceiling in subtle and beautiful ways.
