Wheatfield House

Wheatfield House – Competition Entry

A house built of the earth on which it sits

Scheme
A large contemporary farmstead

The project is conceived as a contemporary farmstead; a house belonging to a farm and the buildings around it. The house is built of the earth on which it sits and has thick rammed earth walls. Rainwater is collected, filtered and irrigates green walls, a water feature that runs through the house and wheat fields beyond. An on-site micro-brewery produces ‘wheat’ beer with the filtered rainwater.

Waste grain from brewing feeds rare breed pigs, housed by a muddy bog at the corner of the site. An on-site butcher and baker produce artisan charcuterie and bread. The geometry of distant wheat fields contrasts with dense wildflowers that are almost house plants. House and garden become farmstead and farm.