Mohan House
The site is based in Holbrook, Belper, Derbyshire. From 1770 Belper had a rich history of weaving spanning two centuries, bringing much of the housing development around the mills in the Belper area. The Strutt family who introduced the weaving industry are also relevant to the project as they commissioned the development of Mohan House in 1899 as a convalescent home. This influential history of weaving is the driving concept behind the cohousing proposal and acts as a design generator for the urban, building and detail scales.
Crafting skills (specifically weaving) and sustainability are shared interests for the intentional community - the passing on of skills across generations is an important factor. Social sustainability is achieved through intentional and spontaneous interactions across the community. Combining three of the most vulnerable groups (young families, third ages and the elderly) will reduce isolation and encourage strong bonds across the community. Economic sustainability can be achieved by introducing workshops available to the wider context, sales and open days to raise money for the community. The use of shared facilities (washing /cooking/ cleaning/spare bedrooms) will also reduce energy usage and running costs as well as benefit the environment.
Mohan House itself will be transformed into the central hub for the cohousing residents, with a shared kitchen/dining/office facilities and the ability to open up and form a ‘village hall’ which can welcome the Holbrook residents for open days, workshops and coffee mornings - an income for the cohousing community. The addition of allotments and crafting and shared facilities will also help reduce operational costs of the development.
The dwellings will be designed in the most carbon efficient and sustainable way to create a completely decomposable and recyclable built environment. The main materials used for the structure include timber frame and straw bales - locally sourced from the adjacent farm. These materials have a low embodied carbon and where possible, reclaimed materials will be used to reduce the carbon footprint.
The unit finds importance in looking at what is around us, using ‘looking at oldness’ methodology and conveying emotion to create architecture with ambience, character and emotional impact. By creating new connections and opening Mohan House up to the Holbrook community the site becomes a new point of interest and a welcoming place to live, learn and exchange skills between generations.