Jazz House – Project Overview
The Jazz House is a single-storey home built to passive house standards on a highly constrained brownfield site in Herefordshire. The project involved delivering a high-performance, energy-efficient dwelling within a densely populated residential area, where access, storage, and working space were extremely limited.
The footprint of the house occupies almost the entire plot, with minimal perimeter space and no on-site storage. Careful planning and sequencing were essential to ensure the project ran safely and efficiently while minimising disruption to neighbouring properties. Despite these challenges, the project was delivered on time and within budget.
Pre-construction works included underpinning and the installation of buttress masonry to shared boundary walls, allowing construction to proceed safely within the tight site constraints. The unique plot shape informed the building layout, resulting in distinctive room proportions and a bespoke internal arrangement.
The structure was constructed using a site-built timber frame, with enhanced insulation levels throughout. Walls and roof incorporate 300mm of insulation, with a further 250mm of EPS insulation below the concrete slab, creating a highly thermally efficient building envelope.
To meet passive house performance requirements, the home achieves an airtightness level below 0.6 ACH. High-performance triple-glazed Internorm windows and doors are installed throughout, alongside a Weisman air source heat pump and a full mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) system. Solar PV panels complete the energy strategy, further reducing operational energy demand.
Externally, materials were selected to complement the site’s history and surroundings. Reclaimed brickwork from the original garages on the brownfield plot was reused, paired with vertical Siberian larch cladding and a corrugated steel roof to create a contemporary yet context-aware finish.
Internally, bespoke birch plywood furniture provides warmth and character, including a concealed bookshelf door leading to a private home office.
The completed Jazz House is a highly efficient, carefully detailed home that demonstrates how thoughtful design, close collaboration with Errand Studio Limited, and considered construction can deliver outstanding results on even the most challenging sites!
