Located on a brownfield site on the edge of Warkworth, overlooking the Coquet estuary in Northumberland is a new build Passivhaus designed by MawsonKerr, the design responds to both the client's needs and the landscape.

The house is organised around an upside down layout with the bedrooms on the ground floor clustered around a private courtyard garden which keeps the spaces quiet and intimate. The open plan living, dining and kitchen space are located on the first floor and use this elevated position to take advantage of the long expansive views across the estuary with splayed and corner windows. From here there is access to a large terrace which overlooks the courtyard and continues the theme of inside outside living. The layout responds to the clients’ passions and needs allowing for activities such as music recitals whilst future-proofing the house for long term living.

This careful consideration to the client’s brief is further captured by creating places throughout the house to display her collections of objects picked up throughout her life’s work and travel.

MawsonKerr's design maximises views and daylight whilst being a friendly neighbour to the existing houses around it. The form and materials of the house draw influence from the agricultural structures found locally, this coupled with crisp detailing gives a familiar yet contemporary approach to the design.

The clients' and architect's passion for sustainable living is evident in the choice of materials with low embodied carbon and the use of very little energy to heat the house. Electricity is generated by the PV array on the roof which runs the ground source heat pump and the EV charger. The project increases local biodiversity, with a green roof, rainwater harvesting and two ponds to accommodate visiting wildlife.

The house is fabricated from factory built timber cassettes filled with wood fibre insulation. It minimises the use of concrete and uses no structural steel, all helping to achieved exceptional airtightness and thermal performance.

The design, attention to detail and the newly learnt skills of the local contractors enabled Godwit house to be a certified Passivhaus, the most northerly in England.