Ashraya
Aldbury, Hertfordshire
Ashraya is a ground-breaking low-carbon house that nestles into the surrounding gently rolling landscape and connects with a historic English walled garden. This long straight historic flint wall is extended to swirl around the new courtyards, as well as over and above the arched roof, expressing a joyous and calligraphic form of engagement with the environment, reminiscent of 1960s land art.
The design of Ashraya satisfies Paragraph 80 (previously Paragraph 55 and subsequently Paragraph 79) of the National Planning Policy Framework, permitting construction of standalone rural houses if the design ‘is of exceptional quality’ and whose effect is to ‘significantly enhance its immediate setting and be sensitive to the defining characteristics of the local area.’
The three-level building is sheltered beneath an arch covered with grassy meadow and opens onto new courtyards both sides, that both reduce visual impact and maximise solar resources. Ashraya pushes at the limits of construction and low carbon technology, and is a unique piece of rural architecture that is harmoniously at balance with its surrounding landscape and ecology.
Ashraya Website
Project Name: Ashraya
Location: Aldbury, Hertfordshire
Site Area: 1.1 ha
Gross Floor Area (House): 589 m2
Value: Confidential
Environmental Rating: Ultra-low carbon
Project Period: March 2015 to 2022
Project Credits
Architect: Kirkland Fraser Moor Architects
Client: Private
Project Manager: Trunk Low Energy Building
Contractor: Husker
Structural Engineer: Structure Workshop
Landscape Architect: Bowles and Wyre
Building Services & Passivhaus Consultant: Green Gauge Building Energy + Aura
Low-Carbon Energy Systems: Aura
Electrical Engineer: Aura
Civil Engineer: Genever & Partners
Building Inspectors: Wilkinson
Ecology: MKEcology
Photography: Edmund Sumner
For more on Ashraya House visit the website:
Ashraya
© Kirkland Fraser Moor Tel:
01442 864 673
Email: mail@k-f-m.com
8-12 Clarence Rd Depot, Clarence Rd. HP4 3AS