chalk house
'Chalk House' is a private residential Eco-House constructed as a self-build project built from rammed chalk extracted from the site and completed in 2010.
Built in the former vegetable plot of the client's large garden and separated by a mature Beech hedge, the project drew its inspiration and starting point from the local landscape. In view from the site is Maiden Castle - the largest Iron Age Hill fort in Europe, constructed from huge Chalk banks.
To satisfy planning concerns and minimise visual impact on the existing property and neighbours the house is partially buried into the site. The excavated material was subsequently used to construct thermally massive thick walls against the adjacent Railway lines and the neighbours to the North. The timber 'formwork' used to construct the chalk walls was entirely re-used to make the floor, roof and external walls of the inner facing courtyard sitting atop a modular glu-laminated timber frame designed to minimise material waste. The house is super insulated using sheep’s wool, has intensive and extensive green roofs, a biomass boiler, solar thermal water heating panels, a mechanical heat recovery ventilation (MHRV) system and is fully sprinklered to protect against fire.
