CASE STUDY - The Grand Design Dome

Added on 28/10/2008

“We were blown away when we first saw the SOLARDOME® glasshouse.

The possibility of having our own mini Eden project in the garden was very exciting.”

Alex Reay and Cheryl Robson didn’t give up when their weekend retreat, a picturesque thatched cottage in the middle of Hampshire burnt down. Instead, they embarked on an inspirational redesign project followed by the popular Channel 4 programme, Grand Designs, and chose a SOLARDOME® glasshouse to complete their vision.

Just days before the birth of the couple’s first child, Cheryl was lying in bed as smoke began billowing into the house. The chimney had exploded, setting light to the thatched roof. Stopping only to grab the dog and Cheryl’s maternity bag, the couple fled next door, where all they could do was watch their dream home become engulfed by a blazing inferno.

Faced with the almost total devastation of their home – just parts of the four external walls of the house, a few timbers and the kitchen extension remained – the couple received another devastating blow; the insurance company rang to tell them that their policy had lapsed.          

With a newborn baby to care for, Cheryl moved to their London flat and held down a time-consuming new job, while Alex took up the challenge of rebuilding the cottage.  “We could either look at this as a half-burnt home, or a half-built home”, commented Alex. “We chose the latter.”  

Finding someone willing to help finance the rebuilding programme certainly wasn’t a walk in the park. £400,000 in debt, Alex approached every lender he could think of with a business plan, only to receive refusal after refusal. Finally a miracle happened and one bank agreed to finance them; the £250,000 renovation could begin.

A silver lining in the tragedy was that the couple could redesign the cottage exactly as they wanted it. Gone were the small, poky rooms and low ceilings. Within the original footprint they planned for large, open rooms, and added a big double-height extension to the side of the house. ‘We wanted to put the soul back into the place,’ explains Alex. At the first-floor level, they decided a green oak frame would allow the large glazed expanses they wanted to make the rooms light and airy. They talked over the whole project together, refining the plans as they went.

Two years and a huge amount of toil later, their dream home - complete with newly thatched roof – was reborn. The result is a combination of country cottage cosiness and natural, modern style; bright and beautiful. The family sold their London flat and moved to the cottage full time.

Completing the vision

When Alex and Cheryl discovered Solardome’s range of unique, geodesic aluminium and glass domes at the Grand Designs Live exhibition in London, they immediately knew that the structure would add the perfect finishing touch to their project. They identified the SOLARDOME® glasshouse as having a multitude of uses all year round, unlike a traditional conservatory or glasshouse, and purchased the 4.52m (15ft) diameter SOLARDOME® glasshouse 2B. “We were blown away when we discovered the SOLARDOME® glasshouse,” enthuses Cheryl. Our dome enables us to have one structure which we can use as a greenhouse, outdoor room and yoga retreat all year round. We are really excited about being able to use it to grow citrus fruits, a banana tree and some exotic plants – our very own Eden project.

“What attracted us to the SOLARDOME® glasshouse was its beauty. It fits perfectly with our landscaped gardens with the raised green oak organic vegetable beds, the polytunnel, giant teepee, duck house and pig pen.”

Alex and Cheryl’s project was followed by Grand Designs Revisited and will be aired on Channel 4 in Spring 2009.