Homes
The Hockerton Housing Project (HHP) is an innovative residential sustainable development in the village of Hockerton near Southwell, Nottinghamshire.
Summary
(For more information see FAQ)
- The architects were Professor Brenda Vale and Dr Robert Vale, whose own ground-breaking home in Southwell provided much of the inspiration and know-how for this project.
- It was completed in September 1998 after three years of planning and 18 months of construction.
- They have been designed as one of the first zero energy residential systems in the UK reducing life cycle energy to a minimum and are amongst the most energy efficient, purpose built dwellings in Europe.
- Maximum use of benign, organic and recycled materials has been made in the construction and the development is designed to be, to a large extent, self-sufficient.
- The houses are earth covered and have passive solar heating without a space heating system.
- A wind turbine and photovoltaic system provide all of the energy required to run the homes.
- The water and sewage system is self-contained.
- The homes consists of a terrace of five single storey dwellings which are earth-sheltered at the rear (North), such that the ground surface slopes and blends smoothly into the field at the back.
- Each house is 6 m deep with a 19 m south-facing conservatory running the full width of each dwelling. A repeated modular bay
system of 3.2m in width was used for ease of construction. Most of the internal rooms have 3 m high French windows that open to the conservatory. Those rooms that are not so dependent on natural light, such as utility and bathing areas are located towards the rear of the homes.
- The development is located on a 10ha site that has a slight slope just to the west of south. Previous use of the land was essentially agricultural. The large area has allowed incorporation of features that enable the occupants to live in a sustainable and self-sufficient way. This includes crop cultivation and the rearing of small animals. It has also allowed for large water catchment for the homes and waste disposal via a reed-bed system.
For more information see FAQ