Ty Yfory
The house “front” faces northwest onto the road. The prevailing winds in the area are south westerly, generally warm and wet. Rather less common winds from the northwest are colder and fiercer, usually bringing sleet or snow in winter. The really cold winds are the (usually dry) easterlies but the valley topography funnels all these winds on a predominantly northeast-southwest axis Sunshine hours are about 70% of those in the Thames Valley region, but solar radiation is higher due to much lower levels of air pollution. Rainfall is higher, the southwest winds typically bringing high humidity and rapid changes of temperature. The strategy for the massing and orientation of the house was to minimise the northerly elevations, both for local visual harmony and for good passive thermal enveloping.

The building flows down the slope and opens up and out towards the south and to the valley views. The bathrooms and utilitarian spaces are grouped toward the north sides, and the garage and is positioned eastwards as a buffer shaped to protect and deflect cold easterly winds Windows are placed and sized to accept solar gain, the principal sunspace taking centre stage in the crook of the L shaped plan. Ground Floors: In situ or beam and block concrete. 100mm foam insulation slabs and tiled screeds with underfloor heating. Upper floors. Recycled railway timber beams, timber joists and plywood. Walls: 200mm Solid Aerated Concrete blocks and lintels, externally insulated with 90mm mineral wool slabs and acrylic siliconised render. Windows and conservatory : softwood frames, 28mm argon filled low ‘e’ double glazed units. Many recycled materials such as these quarry tiles in the conservatory and main kitchen and living spaces, contribute to a sense of timelessness in the house. These ground floors contain under floor heating pipes connected to the heating system, which moderates output as a result of the received solar gains.

The arrangement of spaces in the house adjoining and ascending from the lower sunspace level works well, also with a mechanical extract from the sunspace to distribute heat to the northern sides of the building, via the heat recovery ventilation system.