Real Life Design Stories A Warehouse Into An Eco Apartment

Date Published:

17/06/2008

Alan called in his friend, local architect Julian Marsh of marsh:grochowski, to come up with some cost-effective eco solutions to the mill's numerous and very obvious problems. 'He's the most visionary and gifted architect I've ever come across,' says Alan. 'He has never knowingly designed a room full of right angles.'

But Julian had his work cut out at the mill. The staircase had collapsed, so there was no access to the upper floor of the building, and the bare brick walls were all that remained of the original rhomboid-shaped structure. One of Julian's first considerations was to make the building energy efficient, so he set out to re-roof the mill and insulate the inside with Homatherm insulation slabs made from recycled wood chippings, constructing internal walls with a composite board formed from compressed straw.

Credit: Nigel Rigden

The bedroom is one of Alan's favourite rooms. 'It might seem a little strange that the bath is in our main bedroom,' he says. 'But it makes bathing our baby daughter a real family affair. It's a wonderful place to spend time and play.'

The house's power is generated by the first state-of-the-art Micro Combined Heat and Power system in the UK (from Powergen), which acts as a boiler and drives a generator to produce a further 20 per cent of the average household's energy needs. Photovoltaic cells on the roof from Solar Century provide more power. The result is that surplus energy is exported back to the National Grid, so instead of receiving bills from the local electricity supplier, Alan gets cheques.

'Being green can be fun,' he enthuses. 'It doesn't have to be about wearing sandals and eating lentils. For example, we wanted to make a feature out of the water recycling stacks (excess water from sinks and showers is re-used for flushing toilets), and decided to label them''brow'' and''grey'' so people know what they are.'

Not every stage of the eco transformation was as straightforward, but the builders (Framework UK) were prepared to go the extra mile. 'Getting light into the building without losing our privacy was a big problem,' recalls Alan. 'One of the solutions was to design a feature window made from recycled bottles. The builders offered to make their own contribution by gathering together as many empties as they could after work one Friday night!'

Credit: Nigel Rigden

A splash of acid green render and horizontal timber cladding hints that this is no ordinary house. The existing exterior brickwork has been clad in StoTherm Mineral System insulated render for a fireproof and weather-resistant finish.

A splash of acid green render and horizontal timber cladding hints that this is no ordinary house. The existing exterior brickwork has been clad in StoTherm Mineral System insulated render for a fireproof and weather-resistant finish.

To maximise space on the ground floor, the layout is almost completely open plan and double height, with a large living/dining/kitchen area surrounding the mill's original structural steel supports, which give an industrial atmosphere. Because of the closeness of the neighbouring buildings it was impossible to cut any more windows in the walls of the mill, so light for the ground floor has had to be stolen from above.

The terrace on the upper floor is fitted with glass-topped shafts, lined with Perspex, which run vertically down through the house and bring much needed daylight into the kitchen. The back of the house is flooded with brightness thanks to the glass landing on the stairwell, which allows light to pour right down through the house from the polycarbonate rooflight above.