New Build
A Contemporary exploration of the Linhay typology into a passive house
This project replaces a group of redundant agricultural barns located beside a narrow private lane, framed by a distinctive Devon hedge bank. Previous attempts to convert the barns into a dwelling had been refused and dismissed at Appeal.
When we first appraised the site, we concluded that it had all the right ingredients for a robust Paragraph 84 (Para 80) case. Our design reinterprets the traditional linhay typology as a contemporary dwelling, carefully crafted to sit in harmony with the ancient agricultural landscape.
The proposals were reviewed by The Design Review Panel, whose endorsement gave planning officers and committee members the confidence that the scheme was of sufficiently high quality to merit Paragraph 84 approval.
This new build dwelling was granted consent by Mid Devon District Council in 2022.
A Contemporary Linhay
Cobbauge. A Low Carbon Sustainable Method of Construction
The narrative for the scheme was clear very early on, given the distinctive characteristics present in this landscape which included several original linhays built using cob; a mixture of subsoil and straw. We engaged with nearby Plymouth University’s CobBauge Anglo-French collaboration to bring cob building back into the mainstream as a truly sustainable low carbon construction technique.
The building consists of two principle elements; The Linhay barn structure, with its distinctive cruck frame and shaker style inspired interior the ancillary hedgebank building which would reinforce the devon hedgebank on the adjacent side of the narrow lane which the building addressed.
The design stage EPC rating was an A rating with an exceptionally high SAP score of 111, which is higher than any house ever to have been shortlisted for the RIBA House of the Year.
The landscape design was sensitively composed by the team at DLA (Davies Landscape Architecture) and the planning consultant was Jenny Henderson from Ridge Planning.
