The Haven by LSI Architects and architect Michael Barclay is an award-winning four bedroom, sustainable, timber and glass ‘legacy house’ and boathouse that benefit both the family for whom they were designed and the environment.
The Haven Home and Boathouse
The extensive use of Accoya wood cladding and decking as well as galvanized steel were key elements of LSI architects’ design. Constructed on a prominent riverside at Horning on the Norfolk Broads, the two story home is built of pre-insulated panellised timber components of sustainable Accoya wood and is set at 1.3m above ground above to address the flooding** that is prevalent in the area.
The form of the house is based upon the concept of an elegant roof form above a rectilinear box forming the living accommodation. The roof form travels down the rear of the house to enclose the circulation ramp.
Full height windows on the south elevation take advantage of the river views and passive solar energy. These windows have deep reveals which are colored to provide subtly changing views of the house from the river.
The sustainable timber frame designs were developed in response to the restricted road access to the site, and pre-insulated timber modules were delivered to site by river barge. Off-site construction also benefited the air-tightness and thermal performance of the dwelling.
Architects Lambert, Scott and Innes modernized the design by creating a unique, curved, glue-laminated rear screen; this was influenced by the marine character of Norfolk and is designed to resemble a traditional wooden boat construction.
The Accoya screen was made in The Netherlands and was manufactured by Newham & Abel Ltd. It was coated with merbau – WoodGuard Color PRO; the same finish was used for the cladding.
The adjacent boathouse, also covered in sustainable Accoya® wood, allows flood waters to flow unhindered through its base section.
The boathouse has a galvanized grillage runs along the base of the cladding giving the building a light touch to the ground. The main structure of the boathouse and access gates are manufactured from galvanized steel, as is the slipway inside.
The main house has high levels of insulation, gains heat from a ground source heat pump and energy from photo voltaic panels mounted on the boat house.
Interior:
The house is 60% more energy efficient than a 2006 Building Regulation Compliant house and achieves Code level 4 of the Code For Sustainable Homes for energy.
Details:
The soft-spoken architect describes the home’s use of galvanization during his acceptance speech as winner of the Sustainable Award at the 2011 GAGA ceremony:
*The Haven was the 2011 GAGA winner of Galvanizing in Architecture and the recipient of the RIBA Award for Sustainable Architecture
**The site sits within Flood Zone 3 which would typically preclude any new development, but discussions with the Broads Authority, the Environment Agency and LSI’s considered design response to flood resilience successfully negotiated a planning approval.
images courtesy of LSI Architects, Architizer and the Galvanizers Association