Do you know what your carbon footprint is? It is nearly impossible for any person, let alone an entire energy-consuming home, to have a carbon-neutral footprint, but an underground one-story home in England is looking to change that. Architectural firm Make’s ambitious project titled Bolton Eco House boasts a zero-carbon estate, the first of its kind in the North West of the country, embedded into the Pennine hillside. The 8,000-square-foot property features four bedrooms with energy-saving designs and technology including “a ground source heat pump, photovoltaic panels and a wind turbine that will generate on-site renewable energy.”
The architects have worked closely with Bolton Council, Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE), and their client, Gary Neville (former club captain of Manchester United), to bring this futuristic energy-efficient design to fruition. The architectural integrity has been preserved throughout the approximately three-year process of designing the subterranean homestead, while accommodating for a residential and environmental issues. Its placement below the surface is a deliberate scheme to maintain the surrounding moorland’s natural aesthetic. With so many redeeming qualities, some refer to this home as the “house of the future.”
