Adrian James and Sarah Shackleton are the first to admit they are grateful for the wonderfully angular, patinated copper-clad house on an elevated site with stunning views of central Oxford’s dreaming limestone spiers.
After designing the award-winning home they had built and lived in since the late 1990s, architect Adrian was itching to do the same again but was waiting for the perfect opportunity to present itself.
In 2016, Adrian conducted a feasibility study for clients who were considering selling a plot of land at the end of their extensive garden, and then heard nothing more.
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Four years later, when they were out on one of their mid-lockdown walks, the couple happened to pass by the same plot, which had not yet been built. Sarah recalls that Adrian then turned to her and said, “If I could Build a house Anywhere, this would be my ideal place.”
Curious, they emailed the landowner when they returned home and received a reply a few days later. The developer who planned to build on the land had moved out that morning and the owner asked Adrian and Sarah if they would be interested in buying the plot. “The timing was so fortuitous that we felt it was just meant to be,” says Sarah.
Project details
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Closing the deal
Negotiations to purchase the site began in February 2021 and were completed in October 2022 Planning permission The process was relatively straightforward, with good feedback from pre-applications leading to approval in June 2022.
“Going through a two-stage tender process increased the estimated cost of the project so we needed to make some changes,” says Adrian, “but we were able to retain key design elements with our commitment to sustainability.”
As an architect Adrian works in all styles and materials, and his approach is to let the nature of the plot dictate the type of house he lives in, and he felt that this particular site lent itself to a material he particularly liked to use – copper – and his vision was based on a highly innovative way of using it.
Striking shapes will ensure that light and shade bring out the best in them. “The sculptural form of the house was to be achieved by using dramatically angled roof trusses – not on the roof, but hanging over its sides. Wooden frame“Underneath the shell is a straight compact cuboid,” he says.
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hidden functions
As spectacular as the house’s shape is—which Sarah of Folds refers to as “like origami”—the ingenuity of the design lies largely in its functionality. “The peaks and facets of the form are shaped to carefully modulate sunlight,” says Adrian.
He also points out that because the site slopes to the south, solar shading was necessary to protect the generous glazing from the summer sun, when The house may overheatBut in such a way that it will allow less sunlight for sunlight during winter.
Another requirement when designing the building was that the house should visually complement the landscape. The color is such that the structure blends into the natural green of its surroundings, the verdigris color suggesting that it has been there for countless years, gradually lightening under rain and sunlight.
“The copper was actually pre-patinated,” explains Sarah. “If we had left it to oxidize naturally, it would have taken decades to achieve this color.”
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Carbon capture
Construction was trouble-free and completed on schedule due to the use of timber frames and builders who proved to be “efficient and meticulous”.
And in keeping with the couple’s environmental sensibilities, the home’s structure was made from carbon-capturing materials. addition of Structural insulated panels (SIP) also makes the house superbly insulated, thus reducing the need for space heating in winter, but whatever heating and hot water is needed is served eco-friendly. Air source heat pump.
Other eco credentials include an array of 37 covered roofs solar PV Panels that, thanks to battery storage, turn the house into a mini power station that, over the course of a year, produces a third more electricity than it consumes.
Adrian and Sarah are proud of the fact that the house is carbon neutral and should actually become carbon positive over time. All this enables the couple to get the best out of the light-filled home, which has an open-plan, lofty, double-height space.
Adrian describes the home’s interior as refined and simple. “It’s all about the timeless Corbusian principles of space, light and order, and the finish is crisp, bright and calm,” he says.
A monolithic, high brick wall was cleverly designed to add both efficiency and thermal mass – helping to regulate temperature at the heart of the house – and also serves as a staircase wall on one side and a large work of art on the other.
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At one with nature
For all the beauty and joy their home gives them, Jodi says it’s the home’s relationship with its natural surroundings – nestling within them rather than displacing them – that makes it special.
“The garden is full of pollinating plants, and planting a range of native species in the hedge contributes to biodiversity,” says Adrian. “A Rainwater harvesting The tank helps reduce the use of precious water. And recently, we added a beehive and welcomed a colony of bees to the garden.”
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Echoing her husband’s sentiments, Sarah describes what it’s like to live in this innovative home: “It’s amazing how living here enhances every day. Lying in bed and watching the dawn rise over Oxford, sitting at the table bathed in sunlight, coming out at night on the landing and then looking out the window at the place bathed in double-light. Checking our solar panel meter on the app and finding out that we’re using MW Generating is the icing on the cake!”
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