Sunday Times – Homeawards
THE STROMAL HOUSE
The Stromal House concept is for every functional element of the building to be fully interrelated, by using integrated technology to create a comfortable environment for living in.The word Stromal refers to the connective tissues that support and integrate the many different kinds of functional cells within the body as a whole.
The house connects “the heart” of the building- a large airy, bright family social space with the private rooms via a glazed staircase, linking the internal spaces to the private enclosed roof garden, first floor balcony and ground floor garden.
The brief was to integrate different emerging technologies with each other. This enables monitoring and control of energy use, temperature, ventilation, blinds or curtains. As well as control of electrical appliances, security alarms and door entry, the system can be used through communication with the house via a smart phone or I-pad
MATERIALS
The building is clad in FSC Hardwood timber, recycled Copper tiles, and reconstituted limestone. Choices of Materials are because they are robust, recycled and have a long life.
SITE
The building can suit any location to maximise the benefits of the sun and air to improve the internal comfort of the building.
CHALLENGES
The design needs to be adaptable for changing family use over time. Affordable to build using existing electronic and construction technologies to meet the Carbon Zero 2016 requirements, as well as inexpensive to maintain.
SOLUTIONS TO CHALLENGES
The house facilitates cross ventilation and the maximum amount of daylight penetration, creating an airy and brightly illuminated space. Externally, the maximum possible amount of amenity space is provided. The House can be readily extended, so that the building can be increased in size by up to 5 further rooms, allowing for the organic and sustainable development of neighbourhoods.
The technological solutions have included the ‘Energy Staircase’. Clad in Photo Voltaics and with internal step induction treads which produce electrical energy every time they are walked on. The glazed stair allows for changing subtle light penetrations into the building creating interesting patterns on the walls.
In addition to the ‘Energy staircase’ the house has solar hot water collectors and heat recovery pumps. The house has been designed so that it doesn’t need a boiler but has more than enough heat for hot water and heating the house. The house has been designed for easy accessible maintenance.
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