Crossways 'Zero Carbon Home'

Designed by Richard Hawkes, Crossway is one of the first zero carbon houses in the UK. The building explores the uniqueness of 'place' as well as harnessing solar energy to generate all its own electricity and thermal energy.






The building demonstrates how contemporary design can celebrate local materials and crafts and integrate new technologies to produce a highly sustainable building that sits lightly on the Earth





The earth piled onto the parabolic arch has just been sown with wildflower seeds taken from local Kent sources including Marden nature reserve to give it the correct flora and perhaps even eventually Orchids may be found growing on the roof!!





PV-T Photovoltaic Thermal heat & electricity generating system supplied by the Carbon Free Group





Main Bedroom with bathroom!






Photo a little dark but shows the inside of the main structural arch faced with locally sourced clay tiles





Above and below various architects models used during the design process













A X section of the triple glazing units



Visit Hawkes Architecture for more information

The building featured on Channel 4's 'Grand Designs' programme and full details of the build can be seen here

Green Building Bible

These books are the perfect starting place, your first port of call to help you ‘get to grips’ with one of the most vitally important aspects of our society - our homes and living environment.

We all have to learn to build and remodel our living environments in such a way as to drastically reduce our collective burden on the planet. As each year passes by, the opportunities to make a difference are decreasing, and most scientists are now agreed on this point. The time left to embrace a lower impact lifestyle is ticking away.

There are no easy answers and many different approaches, but in these books you will find encouraging, practical and immediately useful hands-on information from both the long-term green building professionals and enthusiastic newcomers to the movement. The trends’ chapter will provide you with a snapshot of where we are now and how things are likely to develop in the near future.

Volume 2 goes beyond the introductions and delves into the more in-depth design detailing of buildings. It also provides easy to understand explanations of how some of the new technologies actually work. The book covers areas such as site layout, building envelope and fabric, renewable technologies, environmental factors, lighting strategies, heating and cooling systems and lots more.

Both these excellent books are on offer at the moment at £17 for the two and post free in the UK! see Green Building Bible web site for more information.