Why this House
Freedom for Bill has to be top of the pile. The word "Architect" derives from the Greek arkhitekton (arkhi, chief + tekton, builder). An architect is a person who translates a user's requirements into a built environment, but only a good one can see the problem as a whole and therefore design a fully working solution. This house falls firmly within that definition and remit. Nowhere have we had to alter anything fundamental to accomodate for a lack of vision on Ricks part - there have been details to develop and some things have moved a little, as a result. But, Bills freedom was why we started this process and this house really delivers on that score.
A feature of several of Richard Paxton's designs is a curved roof. The two last houses he designed for himself and his family both had curved roofs and they added such a wonderful and airy feel to the building. It also helps the property blend into the enviornment which was important to Jean and Bill. It lowers the skyline impact, whilst retaining great inner space.
One of the major considerations was to deliver an energy efficient, sustainable building, using readily available commonplace building materials. The ongoing running costs, both in financial and environmental terms, were a real driving force in the products and methods we selected for the construction. Also, they had to be technologies and processes that we could become skilled iin relatively quickly, as we had none of the "traditional" building skills available.