About Us

Peter and Sigrid are social scientists at the University of Sussex, enthusiastic cyclists and dedicated parents. While we work in the environment field, we had no design or technical expertise in sustainable building before embarking on this house project. 

Our initial plan to have a passive solar house built was impeded by the lack of affordable building plots in the city of Brighton. Driving by car to an eco-house outside the city did not seem coherent to us. Hence, we ended up buying a lovely Victorian house in the Preston Park conservation area in Brighton from where we can walk to the city centre and cycle to the University, or go by train. However, the house was far from our green aspirations and from our expectations of living conditions. This is how the idea of the eco-refurbishment was born.

We found it difficult to find tradesmen with expertise in eco-refurbishment (with the glowing exceptions of SunTrader and EarthWise). It took us quite a few phone calls with producers to gather relevant information and we relied on help from willing individuals across Europe who volunteered their knowledge. Reducing the effort for anybody who plans a similar project motivated us to put this webpage together.