Larch House

• LOCATON: Norfolk
• PROJECT: Newbuild house
• ARCHITECT: Frost and Frank Architects
• STRUCTURAL ENGINEER: Charles Harris & Partners
• SERVICES ENGINEER: SGA Consulting
• CONTRACTOR: Willow Builders
• CONSTRUCTION COST: £248,000 incl. vat
• CONTRACT: JCT Minor Works Building Contract with Contractor Design
• DATE COMPLETED: 2013

Project brief

The clients are the architects. They had purchased a plot of land and their brief was to build for themselves a new detached house that was highly insulated and easy to run and maintain. The house would be left empty for periods and also used for entertaining family and friends, who would stay in the house.

Project specifics

The new house is detached and has a gross internal area of 115m². The house was built using a prefabricated timber frame with larch cladding, and standing-seam zinc roofing. The house has high levels of thermal insulation and as a result improves on current Building Regulations by 25%. The house uses an air-source heat pump and has underfloor heating. The gardens are an ongoing project.

Project challenges

• To design a contemporary house within a conservative rural setting.
• To use local materials and labour where possible and to design a house that will minimise the consumption of power and water.
• To keep the final cost within £250,000 and approximately £2,000 per m².
• To overcome the lack of local utilities. There was no main drainage, no gas for heating and under-capacity in the local power network. All of this was due to the lack of investment in the privately-owned local utility infrastructure.