Treleigh Farm, St Ives, Cornwall
Geoff and Nikki Kenna commissioned Arcostudios - Barrie Briscoe and I to design a 4 bedroom eco home to replace an old and dilapidated 3 bedroom house.
Constructed from Hempcrete blocks with insulation, concrete and poured concrete filling the voids, the house is extremely well insulated. The South facing roofs are finished with solar tiles which in turn charge batteries and run the geothermal plant which is located in the basement alongside the swimming pool. The heat from the geothermal heat pump is then stored in the swimming pool. The air in the room subsequently heats up and this passes through condensers before being distributed around the house by mechanical ventilation and heat recovery units. The end result being a large house that can sleep up to 12 yet makes money through feeding energy back into the grid.
The rainwater which lands on the building is used alongside grey water recycling fro the washing machines and is also collected to feed the waterfall which is below the entrance bridge and furthermore a natural swimming pool in the lower reaches of the garden. A triumph of collaborative design, and imaginative and future thinking clients.