148 Hartington Road
Brighton BN2 3PB

This new build house was completed 2011. It is built on an extraordinary, steep, compact, triangular plot and is a single storey at the upper end and double storey at the lower. The site with approved plans was bought by lighting designer Jason, wife Sarah and two small children. Through much hard labour, ingenuity and skill on Jason’s part and having spent a year on the build; costs for the house and plot have totalled an affordable £170K. It was recently filmed for the BBC’s To Build or Not To Build (series 2 episode 16).

The house has a highly insulated timber frame, and despite little opportunity for glazing on the south side, a passive design approach has been achieved. Abundant natural light floods through home made double glazed skylights, space and water heat is provided from renewable sources, and heat is recycled via heat recovery ventilation. Low energy lighting combined with the glazing approach reduces energy inputs for lighting.

Video

Jason talks about some of the details of the house design and construction (3 minutes):