How did you get the financing?
'I have been through every possible finance route and almost gave up hope of ever being able to finance this project. We even had the plot of land on the market and had a buyer for it, until I was introduced to an account manager of a local Clydesdale finance centre. Finally, no call centre, customer service person, but a real person with brains and experience.'
'They managed to structure a seriously creative, but safe development package, using a mixture of our assets, and the estimated final value of the house. Let's be honest, anyone who can explain and convince Zoë that this is a very financially safe project is worth knowing. As a first time developer, they put in place all the professional team to make sure we where not ripped off by any builders, which unfortunately in our case was tested to limits. Who knows what would have happened without their experience. The really cool thing about Clydesdale is they don’t just punch figures in to a computer and get a yes or a no, they work with you to find a solution.'
How did you get light into the building?
'We spent an amazing amount of time thinking and researching this. We have used three main sources: a south-facing wall of glass (sliding doors); huge slabs of glass thick enough to walk on, from Chipping Norton Glass (these alone would have been good enough, however, but we were always worried that is was going to be gloomy, so we went one step further and designed with Suntile a bespoke product to catch the sunlight from the roof and re-direct to the underground).'
'I think we have done a good job bringing the light in and I'm looking forward to a good summer when we can open the whole house up to its full potential.'
What is it like living there?
'The house feels safe, secure, and quiet, without feeling like a bunker. So far, in the three months we have lived there, the house has exceeded our expectations. All of these reasons give us an indication that we have achieved our goal. Our lifestyle has already changed enormously, and each part of the house has defined use. My office gives me a private area to work, and the bedrooms are elegant but functional.'
'But the biggest bit is the change is our living eating and kitchen areas. Although ultra-modern, they are seriously versatile for easy, functional, family living to sexy atmospheric for the romantic evenings, to the party house where the party really does end up in the kitchen, which is also the living and dinning room. The playroom for our children is been more of a success than we ever imagined. They have their own space, but it is safe and visible, allowing Zoë and I to relax at home. Time will tell if it works long term!'
How does the house operate?
'We have unexpectedly turned this house into an experiment, from the finance package to the use of many different types of materials, concepts and systems to produce what can truly be called a unique home. But one of the reasons for building was to produce a low-maintenance, reduced running costs home, so our focus was insulation and heating. We believe that building underground has aided our goal.'
