Stromal House

A feasibility project for The Sunday Times British Homes Awards.
The Method of Construction needed to achieve a minimum of Building Regulations 2016/FEES/Carbon Compliance, to Level 5 of the Code for  Sustainable Homes.

The Concept
The word ‘Stromal’ is a term from biology referring to connective tissues; it is adopted for this building, as the underlying concept taken from biology. Each of the elements within the building; – structural, services or cladding has equivalents in terms of a heart, brain, lungs, kidneys, nervous system, cardiovascular and arterial system and skin. The key is for elements to be interrelated and for the use to be measurable and manageable.

The design aimed for the integration and connectivity between environmental requirements and the use of technology for new living and social expectations. With the expected rise of energy costs exacerbated by the increasing use of electrical appliances there is a need to incorporate new technologies into a whole house design that through a management system minimise the consumption of energy during use.
The orientation of the house is shallow plan designed to facilitate cross ventilation and the maximum amount of daylight penetration to create an airy and day light illuminated space.
Circulation is via a staircase at the rear of the house creating a well-lit and enjoyable route up and down through the house. There is a ground floor garden, first floor terraces and a private roof garden for the maximum amount of external amenity space possible.

The Technologies
The opportunities of using the array of technologies now available go far beyond the installation of integrated AV and home cinema systems. They offer the opportunity to improve our health and wellbeing, manage and assist the changes in life as we get older or have older relatives to live with us. The technology offers the opportunity to manage and monitor the environment we live in and the energy we use.  Actuators can respond to sensors, turning on or off lights, raising or lowering window blinds or changing room temperatures, watering the garden or setting of security alarms which are managed by a programmable intelligent home automation system.
The ‘Stromal House’ has been designed so that the main elements of the integrated technology are all easily accessible from house circulation areas within the stair core. This allows for refitting with only as much disruption one would have if changing a washing machine, for example.
Fundamental to the design vision for the ‘Stromal House’ is that of using component led construction technology and products that enhances the efficiency of the construction process, The design is based upon a combination of fully fitted out volumetric horizontal accommodation units, a separate prefabricated stair vertical ‘core’ prefabricated ‘total-wall’ cladding units along with various prefabricated components.
The ‘Stromal House’ has been designed to be constructed either as a detached building, semidetached, and terrace or within a square. It can be extended either as its first built or later allowing for ‘organic’ development for neighbourhoods.