The clients brief asked for an incredibly low-energy family home on the site of their existing bungalow, which they had outgrown and was coming to the end of its useful life. The challenge was; ‘how do you design and build a Passivhaus as a contemporary version of a rural country home?’.

We worked in close collaboration with world leading sustainability experts Etude Consulting to design a family home that would have the smallest possible impact on its environment, whilst developing a carefully crafted, modern rural vernacular.

Drawing upon previous successfully delivered Passivhaus projects, we adopted a fabric first approach for a naturally clad timber Passivhaus. We continued to work closely with the client and the contractor during construction to develop and improve the design, and regularly attended site to closely monitor progress, ensuring a high quality finish throughout, with regular air tests, a prerequisite of achieving a sustainable, low-energy home.

This project has won the RIBA East Award and the sustainability award for 2019.

We were delighted to work with Tate + Co, who had a track record of great design and Passivhaus expertise. We were guided expertly through the process of expanding our vision for the house and then honing it down to the perfect design for our needs and aspirations.”

Client, Kintyre