Located near Bath in the West of England, Moonshine is was originally constructed in 1786 as a schoolhouse for a large country house. Partly original building and partly contemporary extension, Piers Taylor, principal of Invisible Studio, designed the original extension in 2002 but has returned 18 years later, in 2020 to completely remodel Moonshine, making it more energy-efficient and fit-for-purpose.
For Taylor, Moonshine was not only his practice’s first project back in 2002, but it is also his own home. Since 2002, Taylor has grown and developed as an architect, particularly in the area of future-proofing his designs to ensure they are as low energy as possible. Applying his knowledge developed overtime, Taylor has retrofitted the building to achieve high levels of insulation, airtightness and autonomy.
As a starting point, the house was extensively thermally modelled and glazing reduced to avoid heat loss. Retaining the structural frame of the house, the floors, walls, windows and roof have all been replaced and upgraded. The exterior walls and roof are clad with Sinusoidal Steel 13/3, powder-coated black, while windows and doors come from Smart System.
A biomass boiler fed from waste timber from the surrounding woodland provides heat and hot water on demand, while electric in-floor heating is liked to off-grid photovoltaics on the roof with a battery backup.
Speaking of his evolution as an architect, Taylor says of the renovation, ‘I wanted to banish the demons of my youth and move on from the house which I had designed as a young architect. In the intervening years, I have learnt so much, while technologies and material have improved. We have loved living in Moonshine over the last two decades but it needed an overhaul and there’s something very enjoyable about being able to tinker with your surroundings to improve them, which I suppose is what we’ve been doing.’
