Paragraph 55 Eco House in the Woods

May 4, 2018

We've been developing designs for a new ecologically positive house set in an amazing woodland site in West Sussex outside the development boundary. This entails using the renowned National Planning Policy Framework 'Paragraph 55' which requires that in order to achieve a consent, the design of a new home must be 'innovative or outstanding' and 'reflect the highest standards of design'. We're excited to be collaborating once more with Roundfield Landscape Architects whose job it is to 'significantly enhance the immediate setting' of the landscape.

Our proposal is minimises the removal of trees from the site, and is elevated from the ground to enable the under-storey of the woodland to flow freely underneath the house. It will be built using an innovative pre-fabricated panel system made from recycled materials, and clad with logs, timber, and greenery; which will all provide additional habitat to enhance it.  

Internally, the house has a variety of customised furniture walls that can each slide in either direction to change the size and configuration to enable a super flexible, family plan. The walls enable the house to change over time and accommodate different family scenarios. We made a simple animation of the concept design to explain the project to the clients, and used simple virtual reality as a tool to enable them to experience the spaces more easily.