Skip to main content

Simon Winstanley Architects - The Houl House

Image
By

Simon Winstanley Architects have another award winning green house to add to their portfolio. The Houl, in southern Scotland, is not only net "zero carbon", but an impressive open-plan modern statement to boot.




The house is sited in a natural concave area of hillside facing principally west along the contours to enjoy the spectacular landscape setting of the river Ken valley and the ridges of the Rhinns of Kells hills opposite.

The intention was to create a contemporary single storey "long house" which is recessive in the landscape, sustainable in its construction, very low in energy consumption, and aiming for zero net emissions of carbon dioxide for all energy use in the house.

The design uses lightweight but highly insulated steel and timber frame construction, clad in cedar weatherboarding allowed to weather to a natural silver grey colour. The roof finish is pre-weathered grey standing seam zinc. Windows and external doors are triple glazed high performance timber, painted grey. All
insulation levels are to Passiv Haus standards.

The slope of the roof of the main living accommodation follows the slope of the hillside, with the rear roof meeting the main roof at a shallower angle to allow morning sunlight to penetrate the centre of the house.
The entrance to the house is sited on the north east side of the house under the cover of the roof to provide shelter from the prevailing wind. The principal rooms are situated along the contour of the site to enjoy the views across the valley to the west. The ancillary spaces are generally to the rear.
The house is net "zero carbon" by using very high levels of insulation, minimising air infiltration heating using an air source heat pump with a "whole house heat recovery ventilation system", and generating electricity using a wind turbine.





















Plans


Photos: Andrew Lee - www.andrewleephotographer.com
Labels:

Comments

Anonymous said…
Definitely a LOVELY house and taking advantage of the gorgeous location. But... it's the wrong way around; keeping the store / workshop / carport where it is one only needs to horizintally invert the design to enter stright into the living area and kitchen, with bedroom furthest away. No need to traverse the long corridor to get to the activity center of the house. Odd...

Inverted it works perfectly.
10 February 2011 at 05:50
Anonymous said…
Seems to me that the best view is to the lake, which could be why the living area is on that end of the house.
Great house!
10 February 2011 at 23:32
aswinstanley said…
The corner with the living accommodation looks down the valley. The master bed takes advantage of the other double aspect views up the valley and the other public rooms are also on that side of the building to get the view of the hills. The 'service' spaces are all on the other side which face the sloping hillside - cut into the rock. The long corridor is actually a nice separation and leading entrance to the main living area. Its my fathers house so I'm not bias but he loves it!
16 February 2011 at 09:52
Marie said…
what an AMAZING view from that piano
24 February 2011 at 19:50
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hiroaki Ohtani - Kobe Layer House

By
Hiroaki Ohtani Kobe Layer House Continuing the last posts stripy theme, which is about all these houses have in common, despite the Japanese link. This is Hiroaki Ohtani solution to infill in Japan. The house is made up of pre-cast concrete strips, stacked unevenly to allow stairs, furniture and floors to be inserted in the gaps. It's tight, claustrophobic, yet entirely open. There are no internal doors, apart from the sliding doors to the toilet. Passing the tree in the courtyard, that brings irregualar form to this oterwise linear exterior, you enter on a landing, where you can either traverse to the bedroom, or head downstairs to the basement where a formal dining room and bathroom are housed. Climbing up you reach the living room and galley kitchen with a steep set of stairs taking you to the roof deck, of which half is a glazed panel to bathe the main stairwell with light. The front of the house is a larged glass panel to let more light into the house and the r
3 comments
Read more

Lund Hagem - Cabin Ameln

By
Lund Hagem , based out of Norway have a fantastic site, and collection of baches. Cabin Ameln, a providing sheltered BBQ retreat, and views out across the fjord. Contour hugging hunkered in design, connects with the site while minimalist layout and crisp finishes set it apart from your ordinary weekend retreat. Location: Østerøya, Sandefjord, Norway Size: 90 m2 Completed: 2009 The building sits in sloping terrain in close proximity to the sea. It has been designed to create favourable, screened outdoor areas. Previous buildings (4 in total) have been demolished and replaced with one new building that collects all functions under one roof. The L-shaped layout uses steps to follow the terrain so that the building can utilise existing vegetation and trees to avoid visibility from the sea. This layout creates one upper and one lower outdoor area/patio. The upper patio has been duly screened from the seafront, but offers views through the building due to glass walls. I think I've fo
8 comments
Read more

Murray Cockburn Partnership - Kohara Lodge

By
Murray Cockburn Partnership Kohara Lodge Of middle earth - Murray Cockburn has created a true hideaway. Kohara Lodge, of local schist stone and sedum roof, sits in quiet vigil above the Shotover river. Oh, and it's a holiday let. Overview Kohara Lodge has been built with environmental considerations in mind. The owners' main aim was to put the land back to the way it was once building had finished hence the design of the property incorporating the natural hillside, and re-planting the grounds with native New Zealand trees. The architect's vision was to replicate the natural environment as much as possible. To this end natural schist stone from a local quarry was used and this was dry laid as much as possible and dry stacked. Recycled railway timbers have been used on the outside of the property and there is no paint anywhere on the exterior of the house. The windows at Kohara Lodge all have Comfort glass to prevent glare and reflection, built in UV protection and double
19 comments
Read more