The Eton Cottage brief was to extend and refurbish a compact rural village cottage (circa 1700) using environment conscious material specifications and to utilise technologies which would lower the operational carbon emissions of the house. The house was not listed but it was within a sensitive conservation area and the South Downs National Park. The design for Eton Cottage balances the comforting qualities of shadow with the sense of well-being afforded by abundant light. It plays with the juxtaposition of modern and ancient materials, elevating the beauty of natural imperfection against the clean lines of modernity.