is, according to Deveci, recycled and more
breathable compared to other alternatives.
“It’s a good example of how architects can
build using sustainable and future recyclable
materials as well as addressing circularity.”
The architect says: “The project is ageing
nicely, taking a greyish colour which fits with
the existing roofs and structures in that part
of the world.” Deveci continues, discussing
how the material benefits the environmental
and wellbeing qualities of the spaces within:
“considering health, using healthy materials
is important since our buildings are becoming
more and more air-tight.” He also notes that
“low energy housing solutions, in particular
the affordable housing sector, often have their
ventilation switched off, which can lead to
long term health problems.”
Given all these features, the house almost
reaches Passivhaus standards – “in terms of
insulation, it’s better than Passivhaus,” says
Deveci. The only aspect that didn’t meet
Passivhaus was airtightness, which was
partly deliberate for the research aspect; it is
rare for affordable housing to incorporate
the mechanical ventilation systems that
would be required to offset extreme
airtightness, due to their cost (minimum
£4K, according to Deveci).Instead, the architect designed a bespoke
ventilation system which extracts the air
from the living room – heated by the
woodburning stove – and redistributes it
through diffusion into the bedrooms in the
north of the plan, or vice-versa. When
quizzed on what could’ve been added to
further improve the thermal performance of
the house, Deveci notes that he would’ve
liked to use a concrete foundation to make
use of ground-stored heat, however, the
environmental and budgetary constraints
meant that this wasn’t feasible.
Aside from the ecological sustainability
benefits that Integra House provides to the
client, for Deveci, the real sustainability is
economic: “Affordability is so often only
seen in terms of capital costs, and not
running costs,” explains Deveci. Integra
House incorporates both of these, achieved
by using a simple, yet elegant solution.
“I think what I demonstrated is that custom
and self-build doesn’t need to be one-off or
expensive. They can be very cost effective
and meet the construction standards.
There’s no need to make sacrifices. If it’s not
affordable it’s not repeatable!”
In the midst of a housing crisis, a strong
case can be made for Integra House as more
than a singular example of a passing fad for
affordable eco-housing in rural areas. The
truss-based system makes it a cool
contender among the many solutions being
proposed in efforts to ramp up housing
production and meet both customer
demand and Government targets. While
Deveci insists “it’s not just a numbers
game,” the house’s simplicity makes it easy
to build, easy to maintain – maintenance
need not be carried out by specialist
contractors, making it especially apt for
rural and remote areas and the self build
market – and easily customisable, since a
wide array of materials can be applied to it
to the preference of the client or user.
Also, often overlooked in debates over
housing in the United Kingdom is the cultural
component – with architectural language
being a reflection of cultures, morphing
over time and space, and over and within
borders. “Should the houses in the north of
Scotland be the same as those in the south of
England?” asks Deveci rhetorically, before
answering: “I don’t think they should.” It
makes sense, then, to seriously consider
solutions that can be easily tailored to local
character and identity. When the solution
can be constructed with such ease,
giving access to self-builders and smaller
housebuilders, an even more enticing answer
to the challenges materialises. “Should the houses in the
north of Scotland be the
same as those in the south
of England? I don’t think
they should”PROJECT FACTFILE- Integra House was a
research project funded by
the Construction Scotland
Innovation Centre (CSIC) - Truss developed and supplied
by Pasquill - Structure erected by
Sylvan Stuart
40PROJECT REPORT: SELFBUILD & CUSTOM BUILD PROJECTSWWW.ARCHITECTSDATAFILE.CO.UK ADF JUNE 2019