You

A successful design begins with a clear and well thought-out brief. Understanding your vision and how you want the design to enhance your life is essential, which is why time is taken to truly get to know you before any work begins.

• Motivations: What inspires and drives you.
• Lifestyle: The way you live, move, and interact with your space.
• Routine: The rhythms and routines that shape your day-to-day life.
• Story: Your personal history and how it can be reflected in the design.
• Building Requirements: Considerations like family size, entertaining needs, and functionality.
• Specifics: Unique interests, hobbies, and spatial requirements that matter to you.

By understanding these key elements, the design can truly reflect your vision and serve your needs in the most meaningful way.

Every site presents its own unique opportunities and challenges. A successful design responds to these factors, which is why BHA places great emphasis on a thorough site analysis. This ensures a full understanding of the site’s potential and limitations, allowing the design to maximise its advantages while addressing any constraints.

Key considerations in the site analysis include:

• Climate: Temperature, humidity, and seasonal variations to optimise comfort and energy use.
• Views: Key vistas and sightlines to enhance connection with the environment.
• Prevailing Wind: Wind patterns to inform ventilation and outdoor spaces.
• Sun Exposure: Daylight and shade to optimise energy efficiency and comfort.
• Topography: Slopes and contours to inform layout and accessibility.
• Privacy: Screening and spatial planning to ensure privacy and minimise overlooking.
• Access & Circulation: Pathways and entry points for smooth movement through the site.
• Ecosystem: Existing flora, fauna and natural features to preserve or integrate.

By carefully analysing these factors, the design can be fully aligned with the site’s distinctive characteristics and surroundings.

Every design is inspired by the unique beauty of the site - its topography, ecological aesthetics, and materiality. The architecture is carefully integrated into the environment, enhancing both the land and the spaces it contains. Each project embraces the site’s natural features, such as orientation, views, and climate, to create a seamless connection with nature and foster well-being through biophilic design.

The use of locally occurring natural materials complements this relationship with the land, enhancing sustainability and creating a sense of belonging within the environment.

Common Natural Materials:

• Rammed Earth: Grounding and blending with the earth.
• Timber: Warmth and texture that connect to the surrounding forest or landscape.
• Stone: Strong, timeless, and linked to the land.
• Straw Bale: Sustainable insulation with agricultural ties.
• Wool: Natural insulation for energy efficiency and comfort.
• Lime Plaster: Breathable and sustainable.
• Hempcrete: Lightweight, insulating, and eco-friendly.

Key Benefits:

• Low Toxicity: Reduces exposure to harmful chemicals, improving indoor air quality.
• Sustainability: Minimises environmental impact with responsibly sourced materials.
• Biophilic Design: Strengthens the connection to nature, promoting well-being.
• Natural Performance: Exceptional thermal performance that enhances comfort and energy efficiency.

By harmonising architecture with the land and using sustainable materials, BHA creates spaces that feel both part of the environment and in tune with it. 

Passive design focuses on creating healthy, comfortable spaces while reducing energy consumption. The design process prioritises harnessing natural resources - like sun, wind, and thermal mass - while responding to the specifics of the site's climate, and employing modern technologies to achieve energy efficiency and comfort.

Key Passive Design Principles:

• Solar Gain: Maximising the sun’s energy for heating.
• Shading Design: Preventing overheating through strategic shading.
• Thermal Mass: Using dense materials to stabilise temperatures.
• Natural Ventilation: Promoting airflow for cooling and air quality.
• Renewable Electricity: Integrating solar, wind, and micro-hydro power where possible.
• Natural Light: Optimising daylight and reducing the need for artificial lighting.
• Off-Grid Services: Incorporating systems that enable self-sufficiency.
• Mechanical Additions: When the site's natural resources doesn’t fully meet energy needs, mechanical systems like heat-exchange ventilation and energy-efficient heating/cooling are incorporated.

This approach ensures each project is designed for long-term comfort and sustainability, with minimal environmental impact.

Sustainability and minimising environmental impact is central to the design approach. Through thoughtful design, a building can perform well in these areas while ensuring comfort, function, and aesthetics are maintained - regardless of budget.

Environmental impact is considered in three key areas:

1. Energy Consumption: Minimising the building's on-going energy consumption through passive design (see Passive Design, above).
2. Embodied Impact: Minimising the environmental cost of materials and construction.
3. Ecosystem Impact: Minimising the direct impact on the site's ecosystem.

Key Considerations for Embodied Impact:

• Material Sources: Materials are chosen for high renewability, low extraction and processing impact, and minimal transport requirements. Recycled materials are incorporated where appropriate, enhancing sustainability and adding character to the design.
• Durability: Durable materials reduce the need for frequent replacement, lowering long-term resource consumption. Materials with shorter lifespans are selected for their reusability or biodegradability.
• Beauty: Well-designed, aesthetically pleasing buildings are more likely to be preserved and maintained, reducing the likelihood of demolition and subsequent environmental impact.
• Construction Waste: Waste is minimised through design by optimising material dimensions, using upcycled materials where possible, and selecting materials that are reusable or biodegradable.

Key Considerations for Ecosystem Impact:

• Construction Phase: Special attention is given to reducing the direct impact on the local ecosystem during construction. This includes careful site management to protect vegetation, wildlife, and soil health, as well as minimising disturbance to the surrounding environment.
• Site Presence: The building’s design also takes into account its ongoing impact on the local ecosystem. Considerations include:
  • Shading: The building is positioned to consider unnecessary shading of surrounding vegetation and wildlife habitats.
  • Surface Water Flows: The design incorporates strategies to manage surface water flow, such as permeable surfaces and rainwater management systems, to avoid erosion and protect local water quality.
  • Ecological Balance: The building is integrated with its surroundings to maintain the local ecosystem's balance, ensuring minimal disruption to natural habitats and biodiversity.

By addressing both the embodied and ongoing environmental impacts, alongside minimising the direct impact on the local ecosystem, BHA creates buildings that are not only sustainable but also respect and enhance the natural environment.