An ‘exceptional’ eco-home designed to resemble a tree branch in the middle of a wood is up for grabs but there’s a catch – the new owner will have to build it first.
The 53-acre Lovells Wood in Buckinghamshire is being sold for offers in excess of £1.5m with planning permission in place to build a one-of-a-kind home.
It is expected the environmentally-friendly house will cost about £2m to build and take about 18 months but once finished it will be worth between £4.5m and £5m.
The proposed house would have 9,310 sq ft. On the ground floor it would have a grand hall and main lounge area big enough for a grand piano, a kitchen and dining room in the other ‘arm’ of the building, a circular fireplace snug in the middle and an office or guest bedroom behind.
This ‘exceptional’ eco-home designed to resemble a tree branch in the middle of a wood is up for grabs but there’s a catch – the new owner will have to build it first
The 53-acre Lovells Wood in Buckinghamshire is being sold for offers in excess of £1.5m with planning permission in place to build a one-of-a-kind home
It is expected the environmentally-friendly house will cost about £2m to build and take about 18 months but once finished it will be worth between £4.5m and £5m
There are also circular snugs on the first and second floors – each with a wood-burning fire that can be fuelled by the surrounding woodland – along with five bedrooms, all with en suites. In the basement there would be a gym and cinema room.
Although new buildings are not normally allowed in the open countryside, permission for an ‘exceptional and innovative’ design can be granted under Paragraph 55 of the National Planning Policy Framework.
This property has been designed to blend seamlessly into its surroundings with the roof inspired by the form of an oak leaf and the overall shape like a branch.
The design statement put together by the architects states: ‘This scheme is far from ordinary. It is unique in concept and tests contemporary limits of housing construction and design.’
It will incorporate a variety of state-of-the-art technologies such as ground source heat recovery and passive thermal heating and the house will have underfloor heating, super insulation and energy-efficient lighting.
There will also be a rainwater collection system and the construction will also be green with building materials drawn from the estate and wider local area.
Estate timber could be used to make the roof shingles which will create a highly textured surface similar to oak tree bark.
Estate timber could be used to make the roof shingles which will create a highly textured surface similar to oak tree bark. Inside, the layout is inspired by growth rings and knots in tree bark
Innovative: The home is designed to look like a tree branch. There will also be a rainwater collection system and the construction will also be green with building materials drawn from the estate and wider local area
The property has been designed to blend seamlessly into its surroundings with the roof inspired by the form of an oak leaf and the overall shape like a branch
The proposed house would have 9,310 sq ft. On the ground floor it would have a grand hall and main lounge area big enough for a grand piano, a kitchen and dining room in the other ‘arm’ of the building, a circular fireplace snug in the middle and an office or guest bedroom behind
Inside, the layout is inspired by growth rings and knots in tree bark.
The unusual design, created by Sadler Brown Architecture, could even attract Formula 1 drivers or team owners as it is just a short drive from Silverstone race circuit.
Jeff Paybody, from chartered surveyors Howkins & Harrison which is selling the woodland plot, said: ‘Permission was granted under Paragraph 55 for a house of an exceptional design and architectural merit.
‘It’s quite unusual, there are not that many of them granted nationally. This is only the second one we have had for sale.
‘It is essentially a completely new building in woodland.
‘The land is owned by a family of local timber merchants who run a successful business, they’ve had it in the family for a long time and harvested oak from the woods a few years ago.
‘The house has been designed to reflect the woodland – it looks like a branch or an oak leaf.
These plans show how the home would look. There are also circular snugs on the first and second floors – each with a wood-burning fire that can be fuelled by the surrounding woodland – along with five bedrooms, all with en suites
In the basement there would be a gym and cinema room. The home is a short drive from Silverstone race track
‘It’s only about a mile and a half from Silverstone Circuit, as the crow flies, so an owner or even a driver might be interested in buying it.
‘With some of the trees harvested the woodland has been opened up by about a third, it was growing very tightly.
‘There would be opportunities to make areas of open space, to have pony paddocks in the site and could create a parkland setting.
‘You can see through the trees and on the top floor the house is up in the canopy so you can get views beyond the woodland to the surrounding open countryside.
‘This presents a very rare opportunity to purchase a site in open countryside with permission to construct a completely individual and exceptional dwelling near to Silverstone circuit.’