This U.K. Home’s Oz-Green Shell Is Actually a Sustainability Move

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Project Details:

Location: Oxford, United Kingdom

Architect: Adrian James Architects / @adrianjamesarchitects

Footprint: 2,500 square feet

Builder: GC Interiors

Structural Engineer: SOLID Engineering

Landscape Design: The Landscape Studio

Services Engineer: CBG Consultants 

Photographer: Fisher Studios

From the Architect: “Designed by the architect for his own family, Copper Bottom sits on an idyllic site with panoramic views of the spires of Oxford. The intention is for it to be the most holistically sustainable dwelling in the region: It is better than zero-carbon, has very low embodied energy, is accessed only by bike or foot, and is low-maintenance. But perhaps the unique feature about the home’s sustainability is the way that its external form has been shaped to perform a critical function for Passive House design. Its copper carapace acts as a kind of solar helmet, protecting the glazing from high summer sun from the south and lower sun from the east and west. So what would normally be considered a major constraint on design has been turned into an opportunity for architectural expression.

“Copper Bottom has a sculptural origami-esque carapace, but shorn of its shell, it is a simple two-story cuboid box with a sloping lid. There are two good reasons for this simple form for the interior volume. First, form factor. Best to keep houses as compact as practicable to minimize the skin to volume ratio. Second, airtightness. Better to avoid complex envelopes at the airtightness line to ensure its integrity.

“There is a creased bulge around the home’s east and west flanks, creating deep reveals for the windows here that block low morning and evening sun. Then the bulge runs along the north face of the house where it acts a porch over the entrance door and the plant room doors. This bulge means the face of the building above is canted, which reduces the visual bulk facing the neighbors. Given that they sold us the land, it is fair enough that they had some say in the height, the form, and the fenestration of the house facing their way.”

“The final elements which complete the facetted form of the house are the ears. There is a hint of zoomorphism about them, but it is more resonance than likeness. They are distinctively perky but as with other elements of the form, they perform a function; they are ventilation stacks which will purge the house at night during the summer, drawing the accumulated hot air of the day out and the cool night air in. As such they are an intrinsic part of the heating, cooling, and ventilation strategy for the house.