Residential | Paragraph 84 Project

Green Fox Farm

How we helped:

Feasibility study for energy options
Dynamic thermal modelling
Light impact assessment
Paragraph 84 energy strategy study
Carbon and sustainable construction report
Overheating mitigation

A Multi-generational, Sustainable Country Home

Located between a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a golf course, this ambitious design for a Paragraph 84 dwelling includes a substantial array of environmental enhancements to enrich the quality of the landscape.

Occupying land spanning 23 hectares, Green Fox Farm provides a setting for a large, multi-generation family home. The design for the dwelling is arranged as a series of wings for different family members around a central communal living space.

Each wing provides secluded outside private space, each having a different orientation and relationship to the landscape.

The house captures and distributes rainwater into the various irrigation retention ponds to help sustain the agricultural activities planned for different parts of the site.

Energy Management Technology

The fluctuating occupancy dynamics of this home have led to the development of innovative energy management solutions through the use of solar orientation, arrangement of glazing, degree and distribution of thermal mass, and methods of harnessing and moving solar energy through a series of independent MVHR systems and heat exchangers.

Various solar and lighting control devices have been incorporated into the design, each tailored to the specific dynamics of orientation, exposure to summer and winter solar gains, occupancy, frequency of use and an objective to minimise presence within the landscape at night.

The Paragraph 84 Requirements

The proposals benefited from a series of design reviews with South Cambridge District Council Design Enabling Panel who helped to drive the functional, practical and environmental strategies as well as the architectural and philosophical rigour of the proposals.

The rural site includes many acres of diverse native woodland, market garden, orchards, grassland and productive micro-farming land. It required exceptional architecture, strong environmental credentials and demonstratable outstanding energy efficiency for the planning process.

Energy Solutions

Mesh’s engineers carried out a site-wide, pre-planning feasibility study looking at the different options for the energy strategy.

The radial shape of the home, which utilises a hub and spoke roof with central fire feature, has the option of biomass or anaerobic digestion using abundant on-site resources.

Solar PV panels tracking the sun through the day and a mechanical ventilation and heat recovery system will contribute to the innovative requirements of the scheme.

Through thermal and ventilation modelling Mesh’s engineers worked with the architectural team to refine the design and maximise natural energy from the sun whilst limiting overheating to drive down the building energy usage by 75 per cent.