Innovative eco-home in South Downs wins architectural awards

August 16, 2023

A striking eco-home project in the National Park has won two prestigious architectural awards.

The Black Timber House, at Rodmell near Lewes, has won the Royal Institute of British Architects’ Southeast Regional Award and Small Project of the Year.

Designed by HAPA Architects’, the building sits on the site of an old tennis court and uses local and sustainable materials. A plethora of passive ways to reduce energy consumption have been employed, including a high efficiency air source heat pump coupled, low temperature under floor heating and high thermal mass heat sink floors.

The house employs passive solar design, high levels of insulation and air tightness measures to make for an A rated house (A rated EPC).

Judges at RIBA said: “Externally, HAPA Architects’ material palette of charred timber and copper is deftly handled to achieve a modern and sensitive response that speaks to the edge-of-village context.”

And they added: “The Black Timber House is an exemplar of contextual modern design in a rural setting that also promotes low embodied carbon. More than this, though, it is a warm and welcoming family home designed with practicality in mind and built with considerable care, and for this it should be commended.”

The National Park’s Design Officer, Rafa Grosso- Macpherson, said: “The scheme sets a new bar for development on the edge of a village, through thoughtful contextual architecture that demonstrates an exemplary use of timber and is enhanced by sensitive landscaping.”