Tŷ Gwyrdd - St Fagans: National History Museum

One of the Museum's most challenging projects to date was the building of Tŷ Gwyrdd (Green House). The structure was inspired by a joint St Fagans/BBC Wales competition to design a house showing how housing in Wales evolve over the next fifty years. It was to be based on traditional building techniques such as can be seen in many of the buildings on site but using them in innovative and forward-looking ways.

The winning design was created by Jestico & Whiles and is aimed at contributing to the on-going debates about issues such as energy efficiency, sustainability, changing family structures and new patterns of work and leisure.

Tŷ Gwyrdd, built by Redrow Homes, combines the vernacular tradition with cutting-edge technology in one integrated package.

As with many houses in the Museum collection, timber is the main building material, combining tradition with sustainability. The roof is shaped as a natural water collector and is insulated with a thick layer of sedum, which also acts as a natural filter. This 'grey water' is then re-cycled, so that the House is frugal in its water consumption. The south face of the House is extensively glazed to maximise solar energy, controlled by a 'skin' of shutters, which are automatically adjusted.

The House makes highly efficient use of energy. Local materials were used wherever possible, thus avoiding energy being used for haulage. A striking example is the re-use of the earth removed from the foundations being used to make bricks for the spinal wall, providing the building with thermal mass. Wool is used as highly effective insulation for the walls. By keeping the use of externally produced electricity to a minimum, it is estimated that the House is virtually self-sufficient and produces no carbon dioxide emissions. Central heating and hot water is provided by means of an electric ground-source heat pump - a kind of fridge in reverse - which pumps cold water down to a depth of 35 meters, taking natural heat from the ground and releasing it as warmth.

The design and furnishing of the interior was co-ordinated by leading Welsh designer, Angela Gidden. The products designed and developed especially for the project address the same concerns as the House itself. The garden, designed by Richards, Moorhead and Laing and created by Gerald Davies Ltd, again has a strong theme of sustainability, and environmental responsibility.

This should not be seen as an ideal home, but rather as a possible practical solution to future housing needs in Wales. In this, the House for the Future embodies one of the primary aims of the Museum, which is to use knowledge of the past to inspire informed discussion about the future.