This building was the second building constructed at the Earth Balance Initiative near Ashington, designed by Malcolm Newton of Newton Architects and with Chris responsible for Planning and Building Warrant submissions, on site supervision and contract administration.

Working closely with an experienced Baker, a wood-fired brick oven was designed as an integral part of the building, with all heating for the building provided by a heat exchange fitted to the flue of the oven. This obviated the need for passive solar gain so the building was oriented North-South, highly insulated with timber frame breathing walls, with thermal mass in the floors and natural passive stack ventilation to avoid overheating.

The building was completely timber clad with traditional clay pantile roof and 'Russian' gutter developed to overcome the need for a pvc gutter system. Internally all finishes were natural, quarry tile and timber flooring, double glazing and low energy lighting and appliances generally.

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