London’s Flint House is a High-Performance Handcrafted Green Home

Situated on the outskirts of London, the Flint House blends high-performance design with hand craftsmanship and warm, natural materials. Designed by <a href="http://www.nickwillsonarchitects.com/" target="_blank">Nick Willson Architects</a>, the eco home incorporates sustainably harvested timbers, solar passive design, and a highly insulated envelope. The clients wanted an energy-efficient home but didn't want anything too modern or another glass box, so the architects took advantage of <a href="http://inhabitat.com/building-information-modeling/">BIM</a>, a rich palette of natural materials, <a href="http://inhabitat.com/solar-power/">solar power</a>, and they topped it off with a <a href="http://inhabitat.com/green-roof/">green roof over the garage</a>.

The <a href="http://www.nickwillsonarchitects.com/projects/residential/flint-house" target="_blank">Flint House</a> is a two-story home with 2 wings on either side and a double pitched roof.

These four areas are linked together by a central atrium, a staircase, and library space. Large glazed windows were specifically designed to frame views outside into the garden and to soak up natural daylight.

The house was also almost completely hand crafted and features bespoke details like unique windows and doors, distinctive kitchen joinery, specially integrated baby gates, custom-made door handles, and a one-off dining table in the kitchen.

The home is built with a prefabricated and sustainably-harvested timber frame and makes use of a highly insulated and tight envelope.

The home is built with a prefabricated and sustainably-harvested timber frame and makes use of a highly insulated and tight envelope. <a href="http://inhabitat.com/building-information-modeling/">Building Information Modeling</a> helped the architects maximize energy-efficiency and natural daylighting. Louvers on the south facade provide privacy for the bathroom and reduce solar heat gain.

Solar thermal panels on the roof provide the home with sustainable heating. The house also makes use of natural ventilation, and a sedum roof above the garage absorbs rainwater runoff.