House built in a week showcased: an energy-efficient self-built home by the coastline
Building a Coastal Dream Home: The Bosson's Self-Built Eco-Friendly Retreat
In the quaint coastal town near Chichester, a unique self-built holiday home is making waves. Peter and Liz Bosson, a couple with a passion for sustainable living, embarked on a six-year journey to create an energy-efficient, smart home that harmonises with the landscape and offers resilience against harsh coastal conditions.
The couple's design brief focused on connecting the house to the landscape, with doors left open during the summer months for free movement between communal areas. The house, raised by a metre to protect from future flooding, boasts a first-floor balcony that maximises the available sea views.
Benefits of a Self-Built Coastal Home
The benefits of building a self-built coastal house with an emphasis on energy efficiency and smart home features are numerous. Long-term cost savings, enhanced comfort, and resilience against harsh coastal conditions are just a few of the advantages. The house features energy-efficient appliances, high-performance insulation, and renewable energy sources like solar panels, reducing utility costs and environmental impact.
Smart home features enable automation and remote control of lighting, HVAC, security, and water usage, optimising energy use and increasing convenience. Customisation allows alignment with personal needs and environmental conditions, maximising coastal views and natural ventilation. Resilience against saltwater corrosion, storms, and flooding protects the home’s structure and reduces maintenance.
Key Design Considerations
Elevation, materials, floor plan, energy systems, smart home integration, water management, and hiring experienced professionals are all crucial design considerations. The house is elevated on pilings or stilts to protect against flooding, storm surges, and high tides. Durable, corrosion-resistant materials are used for siding, roofing, and structural elements.
Open floor plans with large windows and sliding glass doors maximise natural light and views while promoting airflow, reducing reliance on artificial lighting and cooling. Energy-efficient appliances, high-performance insulation, and renewable energy sources like solar panels or heat pumps are included to enhance efficiency.
Smart home systems for energy monitoring and control, automated shading or blinds, smart thermostats, leak detection, and security features are integrated to maximise comfort and efficiency. The house is designed for rainwater harvesting, greywater recycling, and smart irrigation systems to conserve water resources critical in coastal environments.
Unique Features of the Bosson's Home
The Bosson's home showcases unique design elements, such as drawers instead of cupboards in the kitchen for easier access to items. The kitchen design features reclaimed timber that has been stained and waxed, and the concrete worktop was carried in by eight people and patinated down. The house was designed by Milan-based architect Caroline King and Hatch + Mason, who detailed the interior elements.
The original house on the plot was badly designed and had poor use of space, so the couple wanted a four-bedroom house with bedrooms all of the same size. The proximity to the beach has always been the plot's biggest selling point.
This approach ensures a coastal home that harmonises sustainability, smart functionality, and the unique demands of waterfront living, offering a dream holiday retreat for the Bosson family.
- The Bosson's self-built coastal home is a testament to their passion for sustainable living, serving as a resilient retreat against harsh coastal conditions.
- The couple focused on designing doors that could be left open during summer months, facilitating free movement between communal areas and connecting the house to the landscape.
- With raised elevation, the house is built to withstand future flooding and offers a first-floor balcony for maximizing sea views.
- Building a self-built coastal house can yield numerous benefits, such as long-term cost savings, enhanced comfort, and resilience against coastal conditions.
- The house features energy-efficient appliances, high-performance insulation, and renewable energy sources like solar panels, contributing to reduced utility costs and environmental impact.
- Smart home features offer automation and remote control, optimizing energy use, and increasing convenience in the Bosson's self-built home.
- The Bosson's home showcases unique design elements, such as kitchen drawers instead of cupboards and a concrete worktop that was hand-patinated.
- The Bosson's new home boasts four equally-sized bedrooms, a design choice intended to improve space utilization in the former badly-designed house on the plot.
- The close proximity to the beach remains the plot's biggest selling point, aligning the Bosson's self-built coastal retreat with the demands of waterfront living and their dream holiday lifestyle.
