Ashbrook

Ashbrook

Challenge

This family home’s build was heavily influenced by its stunning surroundings of a Grade II listed property. This inspired and influenced all aspects of the home, a main one being that the building is set into the hillside providing the challenge of only one side of the building having natural light. Another example of the home's brief nodding to its surroundings, was the requirement for it to be energy efficient; to protect the stunning environment around them. It was key for the family that all of this needed to be wrapped up in a discreet integration of technology throughout the home. Embarking on this self-build, James Barrett – Loxone Partner and Director of Ashbrook Homes – was excited by the opportunity to also create a unique smart home for his own family.

Solution

The goal of energy efficiency was reached in many ways such as via the automated shading from smart blinds. They react to indoor temperature and the orientation of the sun to prevent the property from overheating due to its south-facing, largely glass exterior which harnesses as much natural light as possible for the home. Zoned underfloor heating also cleverly responds to how the family uses their home, to save energy. And finally solar panels and smart lighting also lead to greater energy savings in the home.



Due to the home being built into the hillside an extraction system that monitors when humidity reaches a certain level - and reactively removes moisture as required - was a key implementation. Additionally, the smart home also had multiroom audio and a conspicuous burglar alarm. The Loxone solution fulfilled this stunningly unique home’s brief with great ease.

We wanted to create a home that provided the perfect living experience for my family, with a ‘wow’ factor that really set it apart from traditional new builds. Design was the primary focus, but I also wanted to incorporate home automation throughout the home. Working with smart home provider Loxone, we were able to create ideal living spaces throughout the property, where smart technology completely complements all the design aspects.<br /><br /> Of course, as we also needed to consider the property’s Grade II listed surroundings, design was still imperative. To enable the home to blend in with the background, we used Sweet Chestnut cladding that silvers with time and natural Cotswold Stone facework. To complete the buried / underground look the roof had to be a grass lawn rather than sedum. Richard and the team at RPA Architects did a fantastic job of making the building suit its environment.

James Barrett, Homeowner

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