Cedar House

This award-winning contemporary eco house was designed around an energy saving brief using an off-site timber frame construction manufactured by a local firm.

The house was built to a very high specification with thermally broken aluminium windows which enable the house to have good air tightness and allow a close control of ventilation throughout. Cedar House is formed of two wings with a linking element comprising a staircase, bathrooms and a laundry room. It boasts a ground source heat recovery system giving an output of some 3 or 4 kilowatts for every 1 kilowatt of energy input into the system.

The long spans over the largely open plan ground floor were achieved sustainably through the use of TJI beams which have a high recycled timber content. The shredded newspaper thermal insulation exceeds thermal performance requirements under ‘Part L’ of the building regulations by 100%. The effect has been to dramatically reduce heating costs despite the large glazed areas. Externally the untreated larch and the self-coloured render requires no ongoing maintenance and provides a thermally efficient envelope as well as an aesthetically pleasing solution to a sustainable home.