Green home welcomes first resident

18 February 2009 07:13am

The first resident of an environmentally-friendly home inspired by medieval architecture moved in on Wednesday.

The four-bedroom home, called Crossway, was built near Staplehurst in Kent using techniques first developed more than 600 years ago.

The building, made up of a vault covered on the outside by earth and plants, was designed by architect Richard Hawkes.

It has zero-carbon status, meaning no fossil fuels are used to heat it.

The basic design is adapted from a technique called timbrel vaulting which is used in the Catalonia region of Spain.

It uses thin bricks to form the covered vault which allows the building to retain heat.

The house get much of its energy from solar panels and has triple-glazed windows.

Mr Hawkes said: "The building demonstrates how contemporary design can celebrate local materials and integrate new technologies to produce a highly sustainable building that sits lightly on the Earth."

It features on Wednesday's episode of Grand Designs on Channel 4 at 9pm.

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