Brockhill, Platt, Kent
The original house, dating back to the 16th century, is characterized by multiple levels and is built into the hillside. This made it challenging to reconfigure the space to accommodate multigenerational living, even with the addition of an extension. After careful consideration, the solution developed with our clients to construct a new single-story house on the grounds. This new home is designed to meet all their comfort and accessibility needs, while still allowing them to remain close to their children and grandchildren, who can continue to enjoy the historic family home and the benefits of multigenerational living.
The new house is designed with sustainability in mind, aiming to approach Passivhaus standards, far exceeding the minimum requirements of current building regulations.
It is highly insulated, with excellent airtightness, and features an advanced air heating system that combines the benefits of mechanical ventilation and heat recovery (MVHR) with an air source heat pump, all in one unit. Additionally, the house generates electricity on-site through the installation of photovoltaic (PV) solar panels and a backup battery system.
The exterior walls are clad in red cedar timber, which will gradually silver over time, allowing the house to blend naturally into the extensive mature garden.
An additional challenge was that house is situated in the Green Belt, which meant that in order to obtain planing permission we had to maintain the openness of the Green Belt. This was achieved by the demolition of existing buildings offsetting their volumes against the volume of the new house.
