Potton unveils timber self-build "Lighthouse"

Timber frame self-build specialist Potton has unveiled ambitious plans that could see the first units of its carbon zero Lighthouse design – first seen at the BRE Offsite 2007 event – hit the market early next month.

Working with the project’s architects Sheppard Robson, Potton has developed what is claimed to be “the most advanced house produced for the self-build market”.

Thanks to its efficiencies in construction, energy use, CO₂ emissions and carbon footprint, Lighthouse by Potton meets the government’s Code for Sustainable Homes Level 6, the standard to which all new homes will be designed and constructed from 2016.

Potton already has plans to develop a range of self-build Lighthouse-inspired homes, using the DNA of the pilot house, developed by parent company Kingspan Off-Site.

As the range evolves, Potton will be looking to add family-sized houses. These new footprints, possibly six to eight designs, could be on the market by the middle of next year.

In order to achieve Level 6, the pilot house features a host of renewable and sustainable technologies, including a biomass boiler, photovoltaics and rainwater recycling.

Choice of timber as a building and cladding material has also been carefully considered. “What we did with this prototype was think about every single material in here and use its specification to aid its overall performance as a zero carbon house,” explained Martin Rose of Sheppard Robson.

Lighthouse by Potton to Code for Sustainable Homes Level 6 will come in at a build price of around £175,000.