In 1995 I bought a piece of land in South Wales. Just under 3 acres in size, it had an old timber frame house sitting on it which was either in need of extensive repair, for example the horse hair insulation was pretty much gone, or was ready to be dismantled to be replaced by something else.
I had met architect Andrew Yeats while he worked on a project at Lam Rim Buddhist Centre. Andrew is part of EcoArc, an eco-architectual practice that he had set up with his partner Lucinda Nelson. With my interest in environmental issues, I approached Andrew about working on a project replacing the old house with an eco-house. At the time I had little idea what I wanted from a house, having just come from 6 years living in a single room in a Buddhist community. I also knew next to nothing about ecological housing design. However, Andrew and I worked well together and over the space of a year crafted what was known until it's completion as David's House.
On completion of the house, with the help of a Welsh vocabulary book loaned to me by a friend I chose the name Tandderwen for the house. Tandderwen is Welsh for "under the oak." I chose this name because of a beautiful mature oak tree that stood by the main gate, its branches spreading out over the bordering country road and into the property.
You can read some of the technical specifications about the house on EcoArc's website.
During Tandderwen's first three years the house attracted a lot of interest from the media, print and television. It was during this time that the house won a number of awards, one from Homebuilding & Renovating for Best Eco House 1999.
Many of the photographs below have text beneath them on their individual pages describing more about Tandderwen.
The house was a joy to live in. From its completion it felt as though it had always been there, perhaps in part to all the wood recycled from the old house. With the wind and sun powering the house, the sun providing warmth and warm water, the green oak wood moving and cracking as it dried out, Tandderwen felt alive. I learnt much from living there and consider it a blessing to have been able to build and live in this house.
