Located in the generally traditional neighborhood of Brixton
in south London, this remarkable three-storey home has become known in the region
as the Ice Cube home thank to its glacial-looking exterior. However, the
building itself is a state-of-the-art eco friendly home that actually is
amongst one of the most energy-efficient homes in the nation.
Actually christened the Slip House by its owner who also
happens to be its architect, the home looks like three gigantic ice cubes
stacked on top of one another. Carl Turner and his partner Mary Martin who live
in the home, state that the home sits in the same site where a terraced, depilated
home built in the 1930s stood before the ambitious project was erected on it.
The duo purchased the lot with the run down home for £475,000
and created a building that looked like three cantilevered boxes. The simple
sculptural building is located next to Victorian terraces and houses the duo’s studio
in the ground box while the middle box features a bedroom and bath.
The topmost
box is where the duo’s living space is located. To achieve the icy visual
effect, the home’s polished concrete exterior was covered in milky glass panels.
The thin steel coating over white birch ply sliding doors also helped further
the ice cube like visage of the home.
Under floor heating and heat recovery with mechanical
ventilation was provided to the home via the pile foundations that feature
integrates ground source heat pump or ‘energy piles’ into them.
The ground-sourced
heat pump, the rainwater-harvesting system, the wildflower roof and the solar
panels allow the home to become on the most energy-efficient homes in the country.
The build itself cost Turner around £550k though he claims that the home is currently
worth a cool £1.5million.
