Sanya Polescuk Architects are addressing a new development requirement in rural UK. Based in London, the architects were briefed to entice young families away from towns and make their lives in communities that have been hollowed out by price rises and lack of local employment. With high speed broadband slowly being rolled out to countryside, architects and developers need to be ready to provide high-quality homes for a modern, formerly urban consumer in a different setting.
It is all imagined on a sloping site in a harsh hilly climate of wind and rain. Rainwater collection & photovoltaic powered ground-source heat pumps allow a highly insulated building to be run very cheaply. Construction methodology matters more than usual for a repeatable model. Sanya Polescuk Architects have chosen affordable and relatively low-skill construction by combining a site-made mud block with digital c’n’c plywood. This leaves a decent budget amount for wrapping the homes in a local stone, requiring higher skill and material costs. The overall aim was to use natural materials and take advantage of their properties to ensure breathability and cut down on harmful chemical building products, a priority of the potential occupiers.
A semi-detached module was chosen and the example site has been laid out to be as sociable as possible with a yard-space nestling between the buildings. The slope in this case added to the drama by enabling one upside- down building to be stepped into the hill. Each building contains plant equipment and long-term lock-up storage, keeping the modestly sized home clutter-free. Only the external walls of each house are structural and loft space has been left open, allowing for sub-division or even opening up of the spaces according to circumstances.
The buildings address concerns for living atmosphere, fresh air, open plan, digitally connected possibilities for younger families. This development model also allows for economically and environmentally sustainable living and should encourage local integration where it is needed most to support modern rural living well into the future.
