Low Maintenance Contemporary Self-Build

Each stage was tackled step by step, keeping the couple focused on relevant issues. This resulted in good decisions being made and their dream home becoming reality. lapd listened to their needs and aspirations and were able to enrich the journey for them.

The design stage involved developing an outline brief and providing ideas that evolved until they reached a solution the couple were delighted with.  “Light is very important to us and the architect’s design has captured this aspect very well”, says Alison.

lapd were also vital to ensuring that the build remained affordable, through their ability to interrogate construction methods and costs. lapd assisted the couple in finding a contractor who could work with the slightly tricky planning conditions, holding a vetting process to ensure the best possible choice was made.

lapd were commissioned to act as Alison and James’ representatives on site, overseeing construction. When considering the Alison and James’s anxieties about the build, it was decided that it would be in the couple’s interest to not attend the formal meetings onsite. The architects experience meant they were aware of when to be concerned with an issue.

Using this slightly unusual approach meant lapd was able to manage the couple’s worries, only reporting key facts and assisting them in any important decisions. This meant that minor day-to-day worries were avoided by the couple and dealt with by lapd and the main contractor.

Sustainability and adaptions

Alison and James’s desire for a highly environmentally friendly home needed to be balanced with their limited budget. To achieve this lapd steered the couple to a slightly unusual masonry solution, which would be affordable, but also highly thermally efficient.

The cavity walls of the house are slightly thicker than most, providing good levels of airtightness. The house is passively heated with air-source heat pumps, which combined with the high spec insulation, means that the dwelling is relatively inexpensive to run, especially in contrast to their previous home.

Given James’ increasing fragility, the house has also been designed with accessibility in mind. Wide doors, level thresholds, easy access bathrooms and an easy-rise wide staircase all help ensure this.

Furthermore, the home’s more open structure has leant Alison and James’s various collected artworks and historical artefacts a new lease of life- giving them a sense of pride in their new abode

Reaping the rewards

“Looking at the whole project, James and I are very pleased with the end result,” says Alison. “lapd has created a wonderful new home for us. It is easy to maintain, light and spacious and is immediately warm and welcoming to guests. It gives us both the independent and shared spaces we now need.”

The architect’s unique and flexible approach shows that self-build is versatile enough to suit anyone and has resulted in a home which enriches the couple’s lives in a way that only the best homes can.