Designed by Architect James Macdonald Wright, the Library House is a model building that showcases the potential for sustainable, low-energy living.
According to Wright, three key points led to the house: sustainability, affordability and design. The architect claims that all three aspects were implemented equally throughout the house.
For sustainability, thick insulation, triple glazed windows and roof lights were utilized for maximum exposure to natural light and airtightness. In addition, ten solar photovoltaic panels and a mechanical ventilation heat recovery unit were employed to lower the energy requirements for the house significantly. The Library House is said to only require roughly 1/10th of the energy of a new build house under the current building standards.
“The Library House is a project which I’ve had in mind for some time. We found and bought the site in Hackney in 2009 but our work on other (income generating) projects had often taken precedent,” says Wright. “But that time has allowed us to develop ideas within the studio, specifically to re-think the urban home and test thoughts around affordable design, materiality and sustainability.”
All images in this article are courtesy of Macdonald Wright Architects.
