The project was commissioned by a family who were seeking to build a home to last them into old age. The site is located within the Greenbelt in Essex but we were able to persuade Brentwood Borough Council that the proposal was an exception on the basis that it is an infill site. This new two-storey villa is located on a former greenbelt site and comprises four bedrooms, four bathrooms, living accommodation and a garden with uninterrupted views of the Essex countryside. The building seeks to adopt the scale of pre-existing homes on the Nine Ashes Road. The main building has a symmetrical composition which can be seen from the street. It offers a contemporary interpretation of a double-fronted detached villa with articulation of bays either side of a central front door. Local context is also referenced by the infill panels set within facing brick external walls. The symmetry of the front is interrupted only by the carport to one side of the building. The principal roof is pitched with roof tile finish, however flat roofs to the side and back of the building have planted ‘green’ roofs where the symmetry breaks down to reflect the informality of the back of house. A bespoke mix of bricks was negotiated as part of the planning permission from Brentwood Borough Council resulting in a ‘multi’ finish which was felt would give richness and variation in tone to the building appearance. Zinc with an anthracite coating was used as infill panels to group window elements and to reduce the perceived weight of brick in the facade. The zinc was also used to frame the opening to the car port and for a canopy above the main front door as well as rainwater pipes and hoppers. The dark zinc cladding is intended to reference the widespread use of horizontal timber weatherboarding, painted black in the neighbouring settlements. Triple-glazed windows with aluminium frames continue the theme of dark metal in the building and contrast the lighter grey bricks. The interior revolves around the principal stair which is centrally positioned and visible immediately upon entry. Both the staircase and the floors throughout the house are made from light grey polished concrete. The concrete floors have underfloor heating installed within them. The balustrade to the staircase adopts natural oak in reference to the steeple of the old Priory and is designed to almost look ‘hung’ from the first floor, as the balustrade runs uninterrupted from the natural oak stair stringer to handrail height on the floor above. The handrail for the stair is split from the balustrade and fixed to a feature brick wall that runs from the entrance level to the roof level where the staircase is lit by triple-glazed roof windows above. Rainwater is collected and stored below the ground in the front drive and is then re-used to flush the toilets. The green roofs slow the rate of rainwater absorption, reducing the likelihood of flooding. An air source heat pump provides conditioned air throughout the building through a renewable source. As the windows are triple glazed and the external walls insulated beyond the requirements of the building regulations, it is expected that energy use for heating or cooling the building will be mostly from renewable sources. The choice of material finishes has been made to reduce the need to replace or maintain in the years to come. Grant Builders were awarded the building contract in a competitive Tender. The construction phase took 36 weeks. Stephen Alderdice Studio administered the contract on behalf of the client and managed the development from the original concept to building completion.