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Richard and SophieH:\A/Lcq aro -^ni

n nr ' ]

plans for a groundbreaking eco home. Nexttackle the all-irnportant p ann ng process

ryrQ\with their!p, they

Planning permission is theprocess that st kes fear into theheart ofevery self-builder; it's r,,'henyour carefully crafted dreams can bedashed thanks to the decisions ofabunch ofstrangers.

As an architect, however, I've hadmore expedence ofthe planningprocess than your avcrage selfbuilder so I \\'as optimistic that thiswould hold us in good stead. lftheres one thing Ive leamed overthe years, it's that there's nosubstitute for putting in plcntyof legwork - the more you askquestions and lislen to the adviceyouie given. the less chance yourplans will be rejected.

With that in mind,I carefully puttogether a pre-application enquiryr a22-page document showing photosofthe plot and detailing what weplanned to build and where.Because we wanted to replace theexisting bungalow with a t\,vo storeyhouse.l needcd to reassure theplanners that the new propertywouldn't further obslrLrct anyvie\ ,s ofthe countryside.

As part ofthis process, I invitedthe planners to visit the site to get abeLter idea of our plans. lt uas allvery informal - the planningomcerspent a couple ofhours u'ith me,walking the vadous sjght lines andlooking at the drawings and scalemodels. By this time, I had alreadyrefined the design a number of timesand $'as on my eighth model - Iwasnt leaving anthing to chancel

We soon received an informalietler from the planning departmentstating that they were in favour ofthe scheme, in principle. The first ofthe hurdles had been cleared - norvfor the neighbours!

Theres no getting away ftom thelact that the people who live closestto yourplot are bound to have anopinion on what vouie planoing. lve

approached the two sets ofneighbours who live next to our siteand talked them through the plans,emphasising exactly what ne'd doneto minimise the impact on theirproperties. For example, on oneelevation ofour house there wontbe any windows, so when ourneighbour looks out ofhis houseover the surrounding landscape atnight, he rvon t be able to see anyof the lights from our house. Thefeedback we received from themwas positive so we submitted theplanning application in f,r11. Andthen the problems started...

Other neighbours submittedobjections to the plans; some ofthem were sceptical about what $'ewere trying to achieve. I think theyfelt that we were jumping on thegreen bandwagon as away to tryand get our plans approved.

The neighbours weren t the onlyones to have differing opinionsabout our house. At the parishcouncil opinions were split but theresult nas in favour ofa refusal,meaning the scheme would have togo before a planning committee atth€ borough council if we were toget approval. Our project was fastturning into a Marmite house -you either loved or hated it.

So.I was due to have my threeminutes of fame- This was mychance to stand up before thecommittee and wa\ iyrical about thervonderful house we hoped to buiid,allthe time knowing that they couldput an end to ourplans in an instant.After Ia spoken, I had to sit andlisten to the committee discussingour plans. And even if some ofth€things th€y were saying wereinaccurate,I wasnt allowed to speakup andput them ight. Than_kli ly,Imust have been convincing because,after a short while. they gave uspermission tbere and then.

Cue huge sighs of relief all round.\\rith our babv on the way, rvork onthe site couldnt begin soon enough.Seeing the odginal bungalorv beingdemolished and the site beingclearcd made me realise that we'rewell on the rvay to realising ourdreams, e\.en ifthere are a few morehurdles to clear before we crossthat linishing lin€.Intervlew B€th Myers

above, flomtop Rcfrard andSoph e wth Kev nlvlcc old out wthtlte old as ftrelrLrngalow getsd,arno shed andwork can beg n nearneslrlnls TiOCk!P dernonstratesllsr now rao caR chdrds des gn rs

IA6 GPJ\D DFS GNS ]LNE:OO8

the Auoust bsue of GDil,

Having gained planning permission, Richard and SophieHawkes innoval ve eco iome is begirring lo rake shape

As someone who takes pride intheir planning skl l ls, i t s alrrats goocl'rr,hen a rycll-orqirniscd sr:henrestafts conrinq toqethet and scvcrnlmonths in thc bui ld is progressinq$ el l . lJut there are some thiDss inl i lc that no nral ler ho\\ 'much vouplan l i r l ncvcr happcn on lhe clavthtl the\, re supposed to. Case inpoinf '1Our newborn bab\ ' , Oscar.

Trvo rr,ccls aler Sophies dueditte, thcre $'as sl i l l no sign ofhimarri!ing so we lvent ahead h-ith adav.s filming 1or CrardDesl.Er.s.Kevin \'lcCloucl ancl the crov arrivedon sitc and \\ 'e al l gol stuck intobLri ldin{ a mini t imbrcl arch to hehdcmonslrate how the techniquervould wofk on thc actl lal house.Oncc compleled. (nrr {oLlr-foot \r idci lnd hro-1bot high scalc rnoclel rrradel iom chv t i les u,orLld bc turncd intoa mini chicken coop : l lonqside thehotrs-.. llrere \\'os a great cflbrt liomaLland thc f inishc.l desisn u' iLsbiq enolqh fbr Kevin and I to strndon.l t \ \ !rkcd - much to Kevinssurprise. l l ren I decidcLlto st ind oni t by m)scl f rnd l i l l s t r r iqhl thfough,al l ol which n'as cau{ht on carrL'faoi coLlrscl I qLless \r 'e ' l l ha\ 'e to l inda nerv lronre trr the chickcns.

Al l this cxci lL'rnenl nrlrst hitvebeerr too rnuch ld-the babv as hcfinal lv dccided thrt r l tef Inissing hisdeiLdhne i t \ \ 'as about t imc he qol irron thc rcl. S() l)hie \ \ 'ent into labourIater that njeht- dthough thiurktr lhr l ter the' l V cameras had lcl i - I mnot sure we \\ ,antcd bab\ 'Osaaf tomakc his T\- debLrt quite that earl \ lSo no$'$'erc back in tht ' caravan, ona bllilding sjte, \\.ith a nerrborn bLrbvin to\\ ' ,1m sure thal sentence 1\ouldf i l l most people with drcad. blrt\ \ , i thout \1,anLrlrg lo sound too smuq,it .s been going uel l . I ts amazing lobe on sitc seeing (rLlr hoLlse cotr ingtogelher on a dai lv basis. and l iving

lhere nleons \ra'get to spend morctimc toqether thrn before.

As lof l l le hoLrse, there-\ been a lotgoins on blrt mosl l \ Llnderground.\\ ' i th the site clcared. a large diggcrdug a hro loot deep hole $here thehouse \r iLisi t , and \\ ,e used thewisle eiLrl l r to ( reale some largebanking, $'hich wil lbc plantcd toshield the area lher'e u e' l lpulkthe car-s so thet 'cant be seen fromthe rcitd. \\'e ve also installed therainr!atcr harYesl ing svstem,under-ground drainagc and scnsorsibr our bui lding monitoring systems.Sintilar sensols u'ill be fittecl \\'ithrnthc concrctc slab, \r 'Lr l ls anclr 'o01.s t0nronitor the themral pcrlbrmancc of

thc bLri lcl inq. mini on-sitc Ncrthcrstat ion \r i l lcnable datr lo becol lccted and checked againstrelat ive $ eather condlt ions. l t . \clcver stuf l - almost as i l \rereal lorlrng the bLri ldirrq to talk to us.

\\Je |e also instal lcd insulal ionundcr the conarete slab to makcsure oLlr home is thcrrnal lr ef l lc ient.choosing :15{)rnrrr ol graphile superinsulating polvstl'rcnc. \Vc-ve he-"nablc to recvcle the oilcuts on thecolder. north side of lhe bui lding tc)go rp lhe side ol the l loor slab.Itsa bettcr usc of lhe Naste materialthan sendin{ i t off to a land-f i l l si lc.

Recvcled producLs have also goneto good use ior the concretc slab.

Erm#s

l)roduced lrorn 50 per (ent \\'estenlilterial it s roLlghh thf samcpricc:rs standard concrele l) lr Ilar more eco fricndh,. h tcmrs ofperlbrnance. i t s sl i l i l r t lv weakerbLlt as thc malerial is usecia lot inroircl nnrl bridge bLri lcl ing, I f igureits going to bc plcntv slroD€!cnoughto be Iseci lbf our f loor sl i1b.

\\'ith eventhing lltlling into placc,we're j l lst about readv lor lhe arr i lalof lhc t imbcr l iame, \rhich is rvhenour home reallv begins to takeshape. No$, wheres that book onmeetjng deadliDes? I \,e llot somebcd-t jmc rcading lo d(r \r , i lh Oscar.. .Catch the next instalmentintheOctober lssue of GD t

AUGUST 2OO8 / GRAND DESIGNS / I4S

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alrove Eaby Oscarhas tinally a rrivedlett The shuttering

for the pouring of

lrelowOff-cutsof thegraphi tesuper.insulating

ofthel loorslab

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hrr.f! rw B€tt Myets

TV diary" . R

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The arrival of the timber frame marks the next ohaseof Richard and Sophie Hawkes'exciting eco prolect

I've lost count ofhow many times'I ve had to pinch myselfrecently,just to make sure that the housetaking shape in front of us is actua.llyreal. So much has happened on sitein such a short space of time thatevery day something newhas beenadded or built. I keep lookingaround in utter amazement atwhat we're creating, and I can'tquite believe that we're goingto be living in it before too long.

Things really started to movelbrward on a Sunday afternoon slxweeks ago, when the timber frameturned up lrom Poland on the backofa truck Our fantastic carpenters,Richard and Tresham, also arrivedliom Dorset. setting up home on anearby campsite so theycould erectthe fiame at lightning speed. 'Ihey

got to work so fast, in fact. that bythe end ofthe first week I couldntstop muttedng flippin heck' at howmuch theya achieved.

By the end ofweek three, the roofhad started to go on and some ofthe intemal partitions were up,meaning I was able to wander round

inside the house and get a real feelfbr the size ofthe rooms and theoverall layout. One ofmy favouritespots so far has been standing inthe lounge looking through thehuge openingthat willbe themain window. Once the tempoErysupports and scaffolding areremoved it will feel incredible in thisarea, with full-height, framelesstriple glazing taking up a third ofthespace. The first time I got a senseofthe outlookfrom this room,I feltlike moving in there and then!

Weve also been able to climb upto the top floor ofthe house, to whatwill become the play declc Its sucha noveltybeing able to see thecountryside fiom this elevatedposition and it's given us a whole

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newperspective ofthe site. And I'mpleased to say that the vlews acrossthe fields are even more incrediblethan we imagined theywould be.

I was always hopeful that thehouse would look inconspicuous inthis beautifii landscape and, fingerscrossed. so far so good. I often hearcyclists and walkers chatting aboutit as theygo by and, thankfully,they all sound like very positivecomments, Some ofthem have evenstopped to take a closer look at thehouse, a.ll of which makes meincredibly proud that our projectis generating so much interest.

With everything ticking overso well. we felt comfortable leavingit all in the hands ofour team andgoing on holiday for a couple of

weeks. It felt strange to be awayfrom the site for so long as it'sbecome such an integral partofour lives.

What a surprise we had when wefinallyreturned: the curves for thetop ofthe arch had been formed andwe could clearly see the completeshape ofthe house.Just five hoursa-fter we arrived home, there wasthe familiar sight ofthe cameracrew lrom Grand Designs,whocame to film the first tiles beinglaidon the arch. For me. it's goingto beone ofthe most excitingparts ofthe project, so I think I m probablygoing to be pinching myselfa fewmore times yet.Catch the next lnstalment in theDecember ls.$e of GDM

OCTOBER 2OO8/ GRAND DESIGNS /I7I

Trade'I r . Balh Myers

TV il iary

With the timber frame finished, the central arch of Richard Hawkes'eco homeis ready to be tiled. but will the process run as smoothly as planned?

Ifthere's one thingl'm realisingduring lhis projecl, i t 's t .hat on therare occasions that somethinlldoesnt quite go according to plan,you can guarantee it will happen ont.he day the TV cameras are here Locapturc it in all its glory.

\{brk had been progressing at aIate ofknots on the central arch.h.ith hvo teams laying the cldy tilesat opposite €nds, gradually lforkingtowards each other to meet in themiddle. lhe firsl layer oftiles, \^rhich$'ill form the ceiling in the upperfloor ol the house, was completed afew days ago, marking the climax ofa great deal oi planning and skilled'lr'ork. It looks incredible from insidcthe house, \aith lhe soirr ing, doubleheighl. spaces noN clearto see.

Kcr,in McCloud:rncl the rest oftheG,.ard rcstgrs crew were on site to

check up on our progress and u,e$.ere all admiring the handirvork ofour building team \ ,hen there \\'asirn almighty crash from behind us-Unfortunatel)'. some ofthe arch thatrvas lelt as a single laver over a vervrainy weekend collapsed onto thcsafety deckjust below. That s thething with this technique, ittjncrediblv strong onc€ all three layersoft i les are complete, bul unti l thenvou havc to treat it like lace. About15 per cent ofthe surface area ofthe

vaull had lo be rebui l t , leaving asizeable slice ofthe roof open onceagain. Bul as Kevin said stoically atthe time, these things can happen

$ith new lechniques where you

havc to lcarn as you Flo along. lhere'sno instruction manual with easv-to-lbllow, step by step instructions andwejust have to be very graleful lhatno one lvas injur€d.

The upshot ofthe accident is thatits added about a week to olu vaultbuild schedule.It hasn't hamperedthe rest ol lhe build, hou,evcr, asinside the house weie been fillingthe wall cavities with insulalionmade lrom recycled newspaper -Asmall hose 1ed into the wall pumps

this material into the cavity at a\.crY high pressure to ensure it's asdensely packed as possible. on closeinspection ofour insulation wecatch glirnpses of arlicles u'rittcnin Czech - it turns out that thecompany that makes this producthas found that it's so popular itshaving to import recycl€d paperlrom abroad to mcct demand!

Another exciting event over Lhepast fev lveeks was the arrir.al ofour high-spec, frameless, tripleglazing. Il's an incredjbl€ product,and I bel ieve i ts one ofthe l l rstt imes i t .s been used in the UK Alocal farmer volunteered to bring his

lraclor along and help us l i l l lhewindolr,s of the lorrv r.hcn thcvarrived from Austria, an offer $e$'ere grateful to accept, especiallywhen we real ised there wasn l . anvlifting gear on thc lorrr After a littlehead scratching someone suggestedusing a clever suction pad lhat $'ason the back ofthe lorry to helpoilload the windorvs and thenmanoeuwe them into place, Cue afew tense moments ds I \\'aLchedone ofthe ibur massive uni ls lor thel jving room being hoisled into th€

air It \,ould ha\,e becn an expensi\rmistake il its 220k9 $.eight hadfallen from the suction pad.

There rvere no such prohlems ancall the units fittcd smootl

-y iD the

frames, with the Austrian compan\tel l ing me the house had been bLriLtperlectly - high praise indeedlFingers crossed the rest ofthe burlcrgoes as smoothly as this. althoughthe cameras are due back soon scrrvho knon's u'hat might happenlCatch the next Instalmentin theFebruary issue of GDM

top Installing thetriple glazing was

rlght an.l far rlghtThe top lloor ofthe house isaspectacular spacenowthat the tiledarch is nearly

DECEI\48ER 2OO8/GRAND DESlC\S I43