Challenge:
The brief from the client was to provide a home that was fit for the 21st Century with an existing 18th Century cottage. Space in the existing cottage was limited and small rooms meant the cottage was restrictive for a three bedroom property. In addition, the client wanted to improve as much as possible the cottage’s environmental credentials and try to create a sustainable home in a period shell.
Solution:
A two storey extension to the rear of the house along with being able to strip the cottage back to its shell meant that the entire layout of the property could be redesigned to provide much more usable space for a 21st Century home. The introduction of new technologies including an air source heat pump system, triple glazed storm proof windows and a considerable increase in the thermal efficiency of the external envelope of the house dramatically increases the energy efficiency by 50% of the original cottage.
Conclusion:
The result is a period cottage which can be used as a modern family home with good sized and well-appointed spaces. The heating of the cottage is provided by sustainable technologies and the great improvement in thermal efficiency means that this is not lost through the external envelope.
