Residential South East

Challenge

The Happiness Architecture Beauty initiative set up by Kevin McCloud in 2007 challenges the way volume housing is built in the UK. It aims to make homes a joy to live in by paying careful consideration to history, landscape, sustainability and community. The selection of building materials was key to achieving this.

Solution

Rather than opting for red brick, typical of much of the new housing in the area, the design team opted for a more mellow brown and buff brick to match the surrounding grass, hills and earth. Dreadnought's dark heather rustic roof tiles tone well with this subtle palette of natural materials and their rustic texture suits the countryside location well. They also tone well with the solar panels, ensuring the panels do not dominate the appearance of the roofs while providing all the benefits of sustainability.

Result

The architects have created a landscape led scheme of new build houses that sits well in its environment.