Hidden in the Scottish Highlands sits the Jill Strawbale House, an eco-friendly holiday home created by Robert and Justine Dunn. The building uses straw bales as its main form of insulation and exports five times more power than it imports.

After 25 years of living in their large Edwardian semi-detached property in Woking, Lynn Paynter, a Marketing Consultant and her husband David, an Artist and Poet, decided it was time to embark on their long-held, self-build dream. Working with HUF HAUS, the pioneer of bespoke, pre-manufactured homes, based in Germany,…

Small may be beautiful, but it isn’t always easy. In fact, creating a compact new-build to squeeze into a limited footprint in London, while meeting all regulations (and the high expectations of a design engineer building his own home) was a challenge of grand proportions for Joe Stuart of Warehome.

Little did Nic Downs and Carolyn Merrifield realise that when they saw a garden plot for sale down a cul-de-sac in leafy Cyncoed, Cardiff, that it would change the direction of their lives.

Villa Geef is one of Damilano Studio Architects’ most recent residential projects. Nestled in the charming town of Sondrio, Italy, this exquisite build replaces an area that was once used as a break-out space for employees of a nearby electric company. Here, i-build talks to Villa Geef’s homeowner and Principal…

Situated in a heavily wooded site, ‘the Quest’ is a replacement self-build in Swanage, Dorset. Overlooking the picturesque Durlston Country Park, the sloping site – home to protected mature trees – played a key role in dictated the positioning of the dwelling.

Three stone ruins standing strong on a hillside located on the northern edge of Penryn, Cornwall, was all the inspiration that Dan Thompson required for the design and build of a sympathetic barn conversion.

The Maryville Passivhaus is a continuation of research by Joseph Thurrott Architects into the reinterpretation of Scottish rural vernacular buildings to meet modern, low-energy demands. The owners, Ian and Mary Sweetland, have had a far from straightforward process completing their self-build. Here, Ian explains his difficulties and offers his advice…

When David Smith’s parents built within the grounds of their garden, David realised he had a similar opportunity on his hands.

Marzouk Al-Bader has always been passionate about architecture and design and it has been his lifelong dream to design and build his own home. Inspired by the landscape of his surroundings, Marzouk has created his very own coastal holiday home in north Cornwall.