One off house

Warwickshire

Client: Private

Contract: Traditional

Role: Architect

Current RIBA Work stage:  4

 

Summary of project and current status:

 

Our client approached Studio Spicer with an ambitious idea for a new contemporary new build dwelling that would use recycled materials wherever possible, consider the acoustics as part of the design, and reuse as much of the original dwelling within the new build. At the forefront of this project is embodied carbon and how material choice and the reuse of materials can improve the amount of embodied carbon of the new build.

 

We are working alongside numerous consultants to deliver the brief, including Energy Consultants, Acousticians, Interior Designers, Landscape Designers, and Structural Engineers.

 

Something we are particularly excited about is the reuse of steel, steel holds huge amounts of embodied carbon, and even if recycled this will release further carbon into the atmosphere.

 

The thought is to not recycle, but reuse the steels from the existing property and a local demolition site.

 

We are pioneering the use of existing steel members from a locally demolished factory within the new dwelling. We have worked closely with the Structural Engineer, fabricators, and steel testing facilities, to make sure the steel members are suitable for reuse and incorporation in the new design. This has presented many challenges along the way, but we are excited about the potential of this idea for the project and our future projects.

 

The project will also boast reused furniture, reused of the floorboards as internal wall cladding, and natural materials. The terrazzo tiles and basins within the bathrooms will reuse crushed aggregate from the original house, within a polished concrete and pigment added dependant on location.

 

Any material that is excavated will be relocated onsite and re-landscaped to mitigate spoil being removed from site. Any materials that cannot be used onsite or within the new dwelling, will be sorted, stored, and repurposed offsite.

 

We look forward the developing the project onsite in the New Year.

 

 

Planning Approved: (December 2022)

On site / Due for completion:  Due to start onsite early 2024.