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any of us tryto do our bit forthe environment,but RicharcHawkessgoingthat extramile-and a half.embarking on apropertywhich,when finished,will blend nto itssurroundings,haveno needforcentral heating, andwillhavebeen almostentirely built fromlocal or recycledmaterials.It will evenhavea"livingroof'with nativeplantssourced rom Mar{enNature Reserve,underneathwhich will standa unique Timbrelvault built fromtiles made romclay dug up lessthanfourmiles awav.Theprojectisas environmentally riendlyaspossible,but it's nota ramantic dealthathehad ongdreamtof.
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In fact,Richardhad no visionofthekindofhousehe mightdesign when heand wife SophieboughttheplotinJanuary2007. There hadpreviouslybeenabungalowon the site, ownedby two elderlysisters.Afterbuying theplot,itwasa slowprocessorRichard to work outthedesignofthebuilding o come.A4am "Eureka!"momentproducedhe building'sunique"arch"shape."Thisis whatarchitecturaldesignshould be about," said Richard."Yougeta site and respondo theneedsof the site. If I wantthisbuilding to belong;on thissite,tmusteffectively evolvefrom the needsof thesite. t was aprocessthatfeltverynatural.The formjustfollowedthe function. Then t wasjusta matterof how to build itand what from."He adds: Ifwe'd bought andon the othersideofthe road, for instance,he shapeofthebuildingwould havebeencompletely different.Everylocation hasuniquequalities,whichrequire auniquesolution."Thedesigl has even aken ntoaccounthowthe building wouldbe seenbypassersy, butcrucially, it neededo be sustainable.his meantdesigning tso that the southside, where herewill be large windows,willgetthe maximumamountof sunlight on winterdays,passivelyheatingup the air inthe building. Thearchoverhangs oshade heglazingnthe summerwhen the sun's heats not required.A heat recoveryventilation systemwill allowwarmair to be reused.Aparaffinwax thermaltankwill act as a heatbattery storing solarenergyfor hot waterand any top-up heat needed.Solarpanelswillprovidehot water,and rainwaterwillbe collected oruse nside and outside.The housewill alsobe nsulatedsing ecyclednewspaper.Weare ventilatingbut not throwingthat heataway,' said Richard. "Bykeepinghathotairyoureduceyourheating equirementdramatically.We willeffectively bebuilding thehouse ike a warmskiacket."The fourbedroom housewill have ipleglazing,which willbefilledwith Argongas,which ismorethermally resistanthan air, also o keephehousewarm.Richardhasbeen workingon the designwithsustainable uilder, EcolibriumSolutions,basedinCapel e Ferne,who will be buildingthe house.Andrew Bassant,of EcolibriumSolutions,suggested sing the Timbrelvault technique,which willbe so fundamentalo the building,using26,000handmadelay iles.Although itwill be only thesecond ime theprocesshasbeenused n thiscountry when t'sbuilt thissunmer. he is confidentof success."It isextremely strong andextremely hink.
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