THE WATES HOUSE MAY JUST BE THE MOST IMPORTANT HOUSE, IN ENVIRONMENTAL TERMS, EVER BUILT IN THE UK.

“The house was the first house in the UK (and possibly in the world) to use ‘wrap-around’ insulation in that the same thickness of insulation (450mm) was installed all around the building, in the cavity walls, floor and roof.” Simon Tucker

This book is about Peter Bond and his design for the Wates House at the Centre for Alternative Technology, Machynlleth, Wales built in 1976. Peter Bond studied at the AA School of Architecture in the 1950s. He worked for Jane Drew and Maxwell Fry and was staff architect on the Pilkington Headquarters at St Helens, Lancashire. Peter set up his practice at the Dome in Richmond in 1968. The practice was commissioned to design an exemplar house at the newly formed National Centre for Alternative Technology (now CAT) in 1975. The project was sponsored by the Wates Group Ltd, one of the largest family owned construction and development companies in the UK. Peter had a personal connection with Neil Wates which led to the commission.  

“The project arose from the friendship between CAT's founder, Gerard Morgan Grenville, and Neil Wates, the family's live wire.” Peter Harper

 It predates Passivhaus by over a decade. The thinking behind it, by Peter Bond and his team, is brilliant in its disarmingly direct and critical response to the issue of reducing energy consumption in houses by using insulation.

The book by Pierre d’Avoine, Jonathan Vining and Caroline Reed (Peter Bond’s daughter) includes interviews and essays by an eminent group of contributors who worked/still work  at CAT including some who knew Peter Bond. These include Paul Allen, Pat Borer, John Challen (project director CAT), Peter Harper, Eileen Kinsman (interim co-CEO at CAT) and Simon Tucker, with a foreword by Richard J Williams, Professor of Contemporary Visual Cultures at the University of Edinburgh.

Pierre d’Avoine worked with the Peter Bond Partnership between 1975 and 1977.

The House That Bond Built is  published by Pattern Book Press with a print run of 300 copies.

The book will be published in September 2026 to mark the 50th anniversary of the construction of the Wates House. The book designed by Reynard d’Avoine is A4 hardback with 300 pages printed on uncoated recycled paper, including extensive drawings and photographs in colour and duotone