Trade
ryrQ\
Richard andSophieH :\A/Lcq aro n nr'] withtheir
-^ni
plansfor a groundbreaking eco home.Next!p, they
p annng process
tacklethe all-irnportant
Planning permission is the
processthat st kes fear into the
heart ofevery self-builder;it'sr,,'hen
your carefullycrafteddreamscan be
dashedthanks to the decisionsofa
bunch ofstrangers.
As an architect,however,I've had
more expedenceofthe planning
processthan your avcrageself
builder so I \\'asoptimistic that this
would hold us in good stead.lf
theresone thing Ive leamed over
the years,it's that there'sno
substitutefor putting in plcnty
of legwork - the more you ask
questionsand lislen to the advice
youie given.the lesschanceyour
plans will be rejected.
With that in mind,I carefullyput
togethera pre-applicationenquiryra
22-pagedocument showingphotos
ofthe plot and detailingwhat we
plannedto build and where.
Becausewe wanted to replacethe
existingbungalowwith a t\,vostorey
house.l needcdto reassurethe
plannersthat the new property
wouldn't further obslrLrctany
vie\ ,s ofthe countryside.
As part ofthis process,I invited
the plannersto visit the site to get a
beLteridea of our plans.lt uas all
very informal - the planningomcer
spenta coupleofhours u'ith me,
walking the vadous sjght lines and
looking at the drawingsand scale
models.By this time, I had already
refinedthe designa number of times
and $'as on my eighth model - I
wasnt leavinganthing to chancel
We soon receivedan informal
ietler from the planning department
stating that they were in favour of
the scheme,in principle.The first of
the hurdleshad beencleared- norv
for the neighbours!
Theresno getting awayftom the
lact that the peoplewho live closest
to yourplot are bound to havean
opinion on what vouie planoing.lve
IA 6 G P J \ D D F SG N S ] L N E : OO8
approachedthe two setsof
neighbourswho live next to our site
and talked them through the plans,
emphasisingexactlywhat ne'd done
to minimise the impact on their
properties.For example,on one
elevationofour housethere wont
be any windows,so when our
neighbourlooks out ofhis house
over the surroundinglandscapeat
night, he rvont be able to seeany
of the lights from our house.The
feedbackwe receivedfrom them
was positiveso we submittedthe
planning applicationin f,r11.And
then the problemsstarted...
Other neighbourssubmitted
objectionsto the plans;some of
them were scepticalabout what $'e
were trying to achieve.I think they
felt that we werejumping on the
greenbandwagonas away to try
and get our plans approved.
The neighbourswerent the only
onesto havediffering opinions
about our house.At the parish
council opinionswere split but the
resultnas in favourofa refusal,
meaning the schemewould haveto
go beforea planning committee at
th€ boroughcouncil if we were to
get approval.Our project was fast
turning into a Marmite house-
you either loved or hated it.
So.I was due to havemy three
minutes of fame-This was my
chanceto stand up beforethe
committee and wa\ iyrical about the Cue hugesighsof reliefall round. above,flom
rvonderfulhousewe hopedto buiid, \\rith our babv on the way, rvork on top Rcfrardand
allthe time knowing that they could the site couldnt beginsoon enough. Sophe wth Kevn
put an end to ourplans in an instant. lvlccold out wth
Seeingthe odginal bungalorvbeing
tlteoldasftre
After Ia spoken,I had to sit and demolishedand the site being gets
lrLrngalow
listen to the committee discussing clearcdmade me realisethat we're d,arnoshedand
our plans.And evenif some ofth€ well on the rvayto realisingour workcanbegn n
things th€y were sayingwere dreams,e\.enifthere are a few more earneslrlnlsTiOCk
inaccurate,Iwasnt allowedto speak hurdlesto clear beforewe cross !P dernonstrates
up andput them ight. Than_klily,I llsr nowraoca
that linishing lin€. Rchdrds desgn rs
must havebeen convincingbecause, IntervlewB€thMyers
after a short while. they gaveus
permissiontbere and then. the Auoust bsue of GDil,
 rr . t, , Belt Mye6 Erm#s
l':,_-;: ;
"

Havinggainedplanningpermission,
RichardandSophie
Hawkesinnovalve ecoiome isbegirringlo rakeshape

As someone who takes pride in

their planningskllls,it s alrratsgoocl
'rr,hena rycll-orqirniscdsr:henre
stafts conrinq toqethet and scvcrnl
alrove EabyOscar
monthsin thc build is progressinq hastinallyarrived
$ ell.lJuttherearesomethiDssin lett Theshuttering
lilc that no nrallerho\\'muchvou
for the pouringof
plan lirl ncvcrhappcnon lhe clav
thtl the\, re supposedto. Casein lrelowOff-cuts
poinf'1Ournewbornbab\',Oscar. ofthegraphi te
Trvorr,cclsaler Sophiesdue super.insulating

ditte,thcre$'asslill no signofhim
arri!ing so we lvent aheadh-ith a
dav.sfilming 1orCrardDesl.Er.s.
Kevin \'lcClouclanclthe crov arrived ofthel l oors l ab

on sitcand \\'eall gol stuckinto

bLrildin{a mini timbrclarch to heh
dcmonslratehow the technique
rvouldwofk on thc actllalhouse.
Oncccompleled.(nrr{oLlr-foot \ridc
ilnd hro-1bothigh scalcrnoclelrrrade
liom chv tilesu,orLld bc turncdinto
a mini chickencoop :llonqside the
hotrs-..llrere \\'os a great cflbrt liom
aLlandthc finishc.ldesisnu'iLs
biq enolqh fbr Kevinand I to strnd
on.lt \\!rkcd - much to Kevins
surprise.llrenI decidcLltostind on
it by m)sclfrnd lill strriq hlt hf ough,
all ol which n'ascau{ht on carrL'fa
oi coLlrscl I qLless \r'e'llha\'eto lind
a nervlronretrr the chickcns. lherenleons\ra'getto spendmorc thc bLrilclinq.mini on-sitcNcrthcr l)roducedlrorn 50 per (ent \\'este
Allthis cxcilL'rnenl nrlrsthitve timc toqetherthrn before. station\rillcnabledatr lo be nlilterial it s roLlghhthf samc
beerrtoo rnuchld-the babvas hc As lof llle hoLrse, there-\beena lot collcctedand checkedagainst pricc:rsstandardconcrelel)lrI
finallvdccidedthrt rltef Inissinghis goinson blrt mosll\ Llnderground. relative$ eathercondltions.lt .\ lar more eco fricndh,.h tcmrs of
deiLdhne it \\'asabouttimc he qol irr \\'ith the siteclcared.a largediggcr clcverstufl- almostasil\rere perlbrnance.it s slililrtlvweaker
on thc rcl. S()l)hie \\'entinto labour dug a hro loot deephole$here the allorlrngthe bLrildirrq
to talk to us. bLltasthc malerialisusecialot in
Iaterthat njeht-dthough thiurktrlh house\riLisit,and \\,eusedthe \\Je|e alsoinstallcdinsulalion roirclnnrlbridgebLrilcling, I figure
rlter the'l V camerashad lcli - I m wisle eiLrllrto ( realesomelarge undcrthe conareteslabto makc its goingto bc plcntvslroD€!cnough
not surewe \\,antcdbab\'Osaafto banking,$'hichwillbc plantcdto sureoLlrhomeis thcrrnallrefllcient. to be Isecilbf our floor sli1b.
makc hisT\- debLrtquite that earl\l shieldthe arealher'e u e'llpulk choosing:15{)rnrrrol graphilesuper \\'ith eventhing lltlling into placc,
So no$'$'ercbackin tht' caravan,on the car-s so thet'cant be seenfrom insulatingpolvstl'rcnc.\Vc-vehe-"n we'rejllst aboutreadvlor lhe arrilal
a bllilding sjte,\\.ith a nerrborn bLrbv the rcitd. \\'e ve also installedthe ablc to recvclethe oilcuts on the oflhc timbcr liame,\rhich is rvhen
in to\\',1msurethal sentence 1\ould rainr!atcrharYesl ing svstem, colder.north sideoflhe buildingtc) our home reallv beginsto take
fill most peoplewith drcad.blrt under-grounddrainagcand scnsors go rp lhe sideol the lloor slab.Its shape.No$,wheresthat book on
\\,ithout\1,anLrlrg lo soundtoo smuq, ibr our buildingmonitoringsystems. a bettcruscof lhe Nastematerial meetjng deadliDes?I \,e llot some
it.sbeengoinguell. Its amazinglo Sintilar sensolsu'ill be fittecl\\'ithrn than sendin{it offto a land-fillsilc. bcd-tjmcrcadinglo d(r\r,ilhOscar...
be on sitc seeing(rLlrhoLlse cotring thc concrctcslab,\r'Lrlls anclr'o01.st0 RecvcledproducLshavealso gone Catchthe next instalmentinthe
togelheron a dailvbasis.and living nronitorthe themralpcrlbrmanccof to gooduseior the concretcslab. October lssueof GD t

AUGUST
2OO8
/ GRAND
DESIGNS
/ I4S

F
 hrr.f! rw B€tt Myets Trade
TV diary
".
sT#} sd*fls Facng$ri,* R

" \" 4 ," {-'r. i S 4i*tqE !!d : l

Thearrival
of thetimberframemarksthenextohase
of Richard
andSophieHawkes'excitingecoprolect

I've lost count ofhow many times

'I ve had pinch
to myselfrecently,
just to make sure that the house
taking shape in front of us is actua.lly
real.So much has happenedon site
in such a short spaceof time that
every day somethingnewhas been
added or built. I keep looking
around in utter amazementat
what we'recreating,and I can't
quite believethat we'regoing
to be living in it beforetoo long.
Thingsreally started to move
lbrward on a Sundayafternoon slx
weeksago,when the timber frame
turned up lrom Polandon the back
ofa truck Our fantastic carpenters,
Richardand Tresham,also arrived
liom Dorset.settingup home on a
nearbycampsiteso theycould erect
the fiame at lightning speed.'Ihey
got to work so fast, in fact. that by
the end ofthe first week I couldnt
stop muttedng flippin heck' at how
much theya achieved.
By the end ofweek three,the roof
had started to go on and some of
the intemal partitions were up,
meaning I was able to wander round
inside the houseand get a real feel newperspectiveofthe site.And I'm weeks.It felt strangeto be away
fbr the sizeofthe rooms and the pleasedto saythat the vlews across from the site for so long as it's
overalllayout.One ofmy favourite the fields are even more incredible become such an integral part
spots so far has been standingin than we imagined theywould be. ofour lives.
the lounge looking through the I was always hopeful that the What a surprisewe had when we
huge openingthat willbe the housewould look inconspicuousin finallyreturned: the curvesfor the
main window. Once the tempoEry this beautifii landscapeand, fingers top ofthe arch had been formed and
supports and scaffoldingare crossed.so far so good.I often hear we could clearlyseethe complete
removedit will feelincredible in this cyclistsand walkers chatting about shapeofthe house.Justfive hours
area,with full-height,frameless it as theygo by and, thankfully, a-fterwe arrived home, there was
triple glazingtaking up a third ofthe they all sound like very positive the familiar sight ofthe camera
space.The first time I got a sense comments,Some ofthem have even crew lrom Grand Designs,who
ofthe outlookfrom this room,I felt stoppedto take a closerlook at the came to film the first tiles beinglaid
like moving in there and then! house,a.llof which makesme on the arch. For me. it's goingto be
Weve also been able to climb up incrediblyproud that our project one ofthe most excitingparts of
to the top floor ofthe house,to what is generatingso much interest. the project, so I think I m probably
will become the play declc Its such With everythingticking over going to be pinching myselfa few
a noveltybeing able to seethe so well. we felt comfortable leaving more times yet.
countrysidefiom this elevated it all in the hands ofour team and Catch the next lnstalment in the
position and it's given us a whole going on holiday for a couple of December ls.$e of GDM

OCTOBER
2OO8/ DESIGNS
GRAND /I7I
'I r . Balh Myers
TViliary
Withthetimberframefinished, archof Richard
thecentral
isreadyto betiled.butwilltheprocess
runassmoothly
Ifthere's one thingl'm realising
duringlhis projecl,it'st.haton the
rare occasionsthat somethinll
doesnt quite go accordingto plan,
you can guaranteeit will happenon
t.heday the TV camerasare here Lo
capturc it in all its glory.
\{brk had beenprogressingat a
Iate ofknots on the central arch.
h.ith hvo teams laying the cldy tiles
at opposite€nds,graduallylforking
towards each other to meet in the
middle. lhe firsl layer oftiles, \^rhich
$'ill form the ceiling in the upper
floor ol the house,was completed a
few daysago,marking the climax of
a great deal oi planning and skilled
'lr'ork.It looks incrediblefrom insidc
the house,\aith lhe soirring, double
heighl.spacesnoN cleartosee.
Kcr,inMcCloud:rnclthe rest ofthe
G,.ardrcstgrs crew were on site to
check up on our progressand u,e
$.ereall admiring the handirvorkof
our building team \ ,hen there \\'as
irn almighty crash from behind us-
Unfortunatel)'.some ofthe arch that
rvaslelt as a singlelaver over a verv
rainy weekendcollapsedonto thc
safetydeckjust below.Thats the
thing with this technique,itt
jncrediblvstrongonc€all threelayers
oftiles arecomplete,bul untilthen
vou havc to treat it like lace.About
15per cent ofthe surfaceareaofthe
top Installingthe
triple glazingwas
rlght an.l far rlght
Thetop lloor of
t he hous ei s a
spectacularspace
nowthat the tiled
archis nearly
Trade
home
Hawkes'eco
asplanned?
vaull had lo be rebuilt,leaving a
sizeablesliceofthe roof open once
again.Bul as Kevin said stoicallyat
the time, thesethings can happen
$ith new lechniqueswhereyou
havc to lcarn as you Floalong. lhere's
no instruction manual with easv-to-
lbllow, step by step instructions and
wejust haveto be very graleful lhat
no one lvas injur€d.
Theupshotofthe accidentis that
its added about a week to olu vault
build schedule.Ithasn't hampered
the rest ol lhe build, hou,evcr,as
inside the houseweie been filling
the wall cavitieswith insulalion
made lrom recyclednewspaper-A
smallhose1edinto the wall pumps
this material into the cavity at a
\.crYhigh pressureto ensureit's as
denselypackedas possible.on close
inspection ofour insulation we lracloralongand helpus lill lhe air It \,ould ha\,ebecn an expensi\r
catch glirnpsesof arlicles u'rittcn windolr,sof the lorrv r.hcn thcv mistake il its 220k9$.eighthad
in Czech- it turns out that the arrived from Austria, an offer $e fallen from the suction pad.
company that makesthis product $'eregrateful to accept,especially Therervereno such prohlemsanc
has found that it's so popular its when we realisedtherewasnl.anv all the units fittcd smootl iD the
-y
having to import recycl€dpaper lifting gearon thc lorrr After a little frames,with the Austrian compan\
lrom abroad to mcct demand! head scratchingsomeonesuggested tellingme the househad beenbLriLt
Another exciting event over Lhe using a clever suction pad lhat $'as perlectly - high praiseindeedl
past fev lveekswas the arrir.alof on the back ofthe lorry to help Fingerscrossedthe rest ofthe burlcr
our high-spec,frameless,triple oilload the windorvsand then goesas smoothly as this. although
glazing.Il's an incredjbl€product, manoeuwe them into place,Cue a the camerasare due back soon scr
and I believeits one ofthe llrst few tensemoments ds I \\'aLched rvho knon's u'hat might happenl
timesit.sbeenusedin the UK A one ofthe ibur massiveunils lor the Catchthe next Instalmentin the
local farmer volunteeredto bring his ljvingroom beinghoisledinto th€ Februaryissueof GDM
D E C E I\48E
2OO8/GR
R A N D E S l C \S I43