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Shell House England : Architecture

Residential Development by Design4D in England, UK, Europe

14 Aug 2009

The Shell House

2009

The Shell House is a new form of urban housing whose curved sedum roof form provides the aspirational ‘landscape’ vista desired by home-owners.

The green roof provides a large north facing thermal mass to the house, which helps offset external changes in temperature. To the South is positioned the living space and the largest expanse of glazing to enhance winter solar gain. Solar panels and a ground source heat pump provide most of the Shell House’s energy requirements. Rainwater is collected and reused in toilet flushing and gardening thereby helping reduce water consumption.

The Shell House is a simple construction of insulated blockwork cross walls with SIP panels spanning between them and covered in a sedum roof. This ‘shell’ provides the flexibility for the house to transform over the occupants whole lifetime to suit their requirements for additional bedrooms or even subdivision into flats. Underfloor heating is housed beneath a fully accessible floor which will also help to accommodate future changes in technology.

Nik Hilton, director of Design4D said “As lifespans extend it is important the houses of the future are able to accommodate both the young and elderly’s needs. We have designed the Shell House to be as flexible as possible and although unusual in design we believe that our curved sedum ‘shell’ creates an aesthetic which will be positively received by both the young and elderly.”

For further details please contact Nik Hilton: nhilton@design4d.co.uk

Shell House images / information from Design4D

Location:England