Our clients wanted to build a new home on a beautiful, rural plot of land adjacent to their existing house in the village of Clifford, Herefordshire. They wanted a home that would be more manageable in scale and more cost-effective to run, allowing them to live more sustainably. They also needed space to run their rural business and to grow organic produce on their plot. We explored various methods of construction which would enable us to meet the clients brief and decided to adopt the Passivhaus Standard with a super insulated, airtight and thermal bridge free, timber frame structure. This offered the clients the rigorous energy targets and quality assurance they wanted and allowed us to test iterations of the design to ensure we were meeting these stringent requirements at every stage of the process. The clients were also keen to deliver a home that would respond to its context and respect its neighbours, reflecting local materials, colours and forms, while also being a contemporary design response that would set the bar for sustainable development in the area. The house was designed to maximise solar gains and to take advantage of the fantastic views beyond the surrounding hedge line. Because the views were best from up high, we decided to put the main living spaces at first floor level to take advantage of the light filled and airy volume created by the split pitch of the roof; with its line of clear storey windows. The bedrooms were all located on the cooler, more shaded ground level of the house. The main house is clad in UK grown Douglas fir, stained with a dark natural wood stain, while the single storey element at the front is clad in larch. Natural Welsh slate is used on the pitched roofs and the timber frame structure is in filled with recycled cellulose Warmcell insulation. The house is ventilated with an MVHR and heated with small radiators connected to an air source heat pump. Roof mounted PV’s reduce primary energy demand by running domestic appliances and providing power for the hot water cylinder.