Brook Lea is a new build house in St. Briavels, Gloucestershire designed to Passivhaus standards. Replacing an existing cottage which had fallen into disrepair, the concept was to create a cranked house that took advantage of the sloped site and changing sun path at different times of the day and year. Our clients were keen to maximize the surrounding landscape and make a strong connection both visually and physically to provide a home that will support a growing and changing family. With the requirement to create a large open and connected space, kitchen, dining, living, work and play are integrated in one way or another. Large, carefully placed windows frame the landscape in each room, whilst internally, mezzanine and double height spaces visually and physically connect the inhabitants. Both ‘dirty’ and ‘clean’ entrances were developed in the scheme allowing the family to maintain their active outdoor lifestyle without impacting the order of this bespoke home. The use of stone, raw timber, and a light metal roof take their cue from the local farm outbuilding vernacular in the area, as do the two stone gables that form solid bookends to the house. The house is constructed on an insulated raft slab with an exposed polished concrete slab for thermal mass. Above the concrete slab the house is largely constructed using an engineered, offsite timber frame manufacturing process with recycled newspaper insulation. The scheme also includes triple glazed windows, MVHR and air source heat pump technology. The completed project achieved an airtightness test of 0.2 @50 Pa.