Keepers Cottage is a listed 16th Century hunting lodge where a few years before we were granted consent to build a contemporary entrance lobby and hallway.

Our clients now wanted to provide garaging for their car collection, storage space for bicycles, wind surfing equipment, and workshop space for the maintenance of the cars as well as ancillary guest accommodation for their children and friends, partners, and grand children when they return home.

The strong south westerly winds and driving rain were an important consideration and the proposal needed to provide a sheltered courtyard area, as well as being energy efficient and sustainable.

The accommodation would be used 'occasionally' and it would be wasting energy to keep it warm all the time. Of course it was very well insulated, and well sealed. The solar gain alone would keep it warm for much of the year, but when more heat was wanted it needed to work quickly. So we made it thermally very light weight. When the wood burning stove is lit the air warms up quickly because the walls don't absorb all the heat energy.