The Pigsty
Herefordshire
Studio Brassica was tasked with designing a wheelchair-accessible, warm, and low-carbon home within a grade II listed 17th-century courtyard farmstead in the Golden Valley. The site, which includes a farmhouse and various outbuildings of different ages and construction types, presented a unique challenge of finding the most appropriate location that would meet clients’ needs and preserve the heritage value. The former pigsty, now in ruins, was identified as the ideal location for the new building due to its level access potential and the opportunity to reinstate the courtyard’s fourth side.
To minimise visual impact and reduce the need for excavation, the design strategically utilises the existing landscape's level changes, partly submerging the new structure into the ground and nestling in behind the remains of the existing stone wall. The new building reveals itself at the wall’s low points and playfully enjoys views over and through the wall. This also leverages the earth's thermal mass to prevent overheating and in combination with a discreetly located air source heat pump, underfloor heating, and high levels of thermal insulation ensures the new home is both comfortable and environmentally friendly.
In contrast, more expansive windows to the south side make the most of the views out over the valley to the Black Mountains beyond. Designed out of timber the project references the existing vernacular while offering a low carbon solution. A simple and neutral palette of timber weatherboards and a metal roof sits well within the verdant landscape and existing mix of sandstone and timber structures.
