House on a Hill

Pete Helme

• Architects

This hillside site above Bath has to rate as one of the best we’ve ever been engaged to work on for its uninterrupted views down the valley to the world heritage city of Bath. We wanted to create a hillside house that both framed the views and sat in it seamlessly when viewed from the opposite hill.

The lower ground floor is formed from an oolitic limestone wall, a material that forms the hill on which the house sits and from which Bath is famously built. The upper ground floor wings sit perpendicular to the grounded stone form and centred on key views, use ebonised timber as a literal amalgamation with its woodland site.

A grey brick chimney is used to anchor the otherwise horizontal nature of the building, giving it a Z axis, and drawing the eye up above the woodland backdrop to the sky.

Given the access on the uphill side an inverted house was designed to allow the earth sheltered nature to the bedroom wing while the main living spaces and master suite enjoy the uninterrupted views of the ground floor.

Sustainable Measures:
Air Source Heat Pump (ASHP)
Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery (MVHR)
Photovoltaic panels
Minimal internal structure to allow future alteration
High insulation levels (low U and Y values)
Home working space
Rain water harvesting to a large beneath ground tank

What was the brief?
An existing residence on the site was replaced due to subsidence. The site's incredible views down the By Brook valley to the Unesco World Heritage City of Bath needed to be framed and used as a backdrop to the living spaces.

What building methods were used?
An ICF was used below the ground with a stick built timber and steel frame above.

What were the key challenges?
The steep hill on which the house was sited and narrow access added a logistical challenge to the construction process but this was designed into the construction system to minimise the size of panels or products brought to site. The hill also meant that sunlight was severely curtailed during the winter. we used a low asymmetric roof pitch to maximise permeability for the sunlight from the east.