We built our house on a rubbish tip

How do you build a house in a conservation area without attracting the ire of the nimbys? Follow the example of Zoe Papadopoulou and Sandra Moog. The couple have built a jet-black, strikingly modern house in the heart of Wivenhoe, a historic port town on the Colne estuary in Essex, without attracting a single objection from the neighbours. What was the secret of their success? They bought an eyesore of a plot that was used for fly-tipping, created a design that paid homage to the town’s rich maritime history — and engaged with locals on Instagram.
That story began in 2020, as the pandemic took hold. To avoid being separated in lockdown, Papadopoulou, an artist, moved from her house in Islington, north London, to stay with Moog, a business lecturer at the University of Essex, who has a Victorian house in Wivenhoe.
Papadopoulou, 50, had been nervous about leaving the Big Smoke, but soon fell under the spell of Wivenhoe, originally a medieval fishing village that grew in size and stature off the back of smuggling, rope-making, sail-making and shipbuilding. “It’s only an hour from London, but it has all this beautiful nature, salt marshes, woods and a gorgeous trail along the river,” Moog says. “And because of its proximity to the university, it attracts a lot of interesting people: intellectuals, historians, artists.”
An artist’s existence is a precarious one. Papadopoulou has helped to fund her career by buying houses, doing them up and selling them on for a profit. When she decided to relocate full-time to Wivenhoe, she couldn’t find a fixer-upper, so set out to find a building plot. “I said there are no plots in the heart of Wivenhoe, it’s totally built up,” recalls Moog, 57. But Papadopoulou was intrigued by a detritus-filled yard on one of the main streets. “I said that’s not a plot, it’s just a junkyard,” Moog says. “It’s been like that for 20 years.”
However Papadopoulou did some sleuth work, discovering an old planning application for that address online. “I googled the name of the applicant, and discovered he had passed away a year earlier. I found a memorial online, with his daughter’s name. So I googled her, found her work email and sent an inquiry. Her brother replied. I said: ‘Would you be interested in selling the plot?’ He was about to put it on the market. I asked if he would take it off if I offered him the asking price — I couldn’t compete with developers. And he said yes.”
Papadopoulou paid £160,000 for the plot, which comprised a 1,200 sq ft concrete slab over foundations for a previous house that had been started and abandoned two decades previously. To save on costs and reduce the carbon footprint, the couple decided to build on those, but hired the architects Paul Archer Design to come up with a new aesthetic. The result is a double-gabled asymmetrical house clad in larch and painted black. It looks both modern and historic, inspired by the boat-building sheds in Wivenhoe’s two shipyards, which repaired ships in the Second World War, but later closed, one in 1961, the other in 1986.
Planners also liked the fact that the house was designed not to overlook the neighbours. Light comes in through 11 Velfac skylights, and a big round window in the main bedroom is above head height, so they can’t peer into their neighbours’ homes, but still get the light. “When you lie in bed you can just look up and watch the clouds go by,” Moog says. “The weather moves really quickly here.”
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The lofty 6.7-metre ceilings on the ground floor meant they had to sacrifice a couple of bedrooms — they have three in the 1,500 sq ft house. The sacrifice was worth it, Papadopoulou says. She wanted the house to feel like a cross between a gallery and the Barbican’s winter garden, a plant-filled conservatory. Their rooms are filled with monstera, ferns and fiddle-leaf figs, and open onto a jungly courtyard. “I’ve always said I would be so happy to just live in a greenhouse,” Papadopoulou says.
She grew up in Cyprus and craved a light, sunny home. To brighten up the darker kitchen, she painted the cupboards in French Rose from Myland’s Film, TV and Theatre collection, vibrant shades that are designed to pop in showbiz productions. “It’s cheerful in winter,” Moog says.
Crockers Joinery made the doors from MDF and spray-painted them, but the cupboards are actually Ikea carcasses, one of several money-saving tips Papadopoulou employed to stick to her budget of £375,000.
She bought the Miele oven and hob off eBay for £1,400 (they were ex-display). The Corian worktop and Franke sink were another eBay purchase for £120 (a saving of £1,080). The 9ft marble dining table she bought at a twentytwentyone warehouse sale for £1,300, a saving of £3,100 (it has a small chip).
When Russia invaded Ukraine the price of birch plywood soared, so Papadopoulou built her cupboards, shelves and wardrobes using decorative European pine plywood, saving £2,000.
But the biggest savings were organisational. Papadopoulou hired half a shipping container for £50 a month from the Wivenhoe Business Centre so she could buy and store her materials ahead of time, ready for her builder as soon as he needed them. “When the war hit, prices started to skyrocket, so I ordered everything straight away. Siberian larch, doors and windows, the metal for the rails.”
Papadopoulou also acted as the project manager. “Zoe sourced everything herself and negotiated the prices,” Moog says. “All the wood, windows and floors, the air source heat pump, the mechanical ventilation heat recovery [MVHR], the structural insulated panels (Sips).”
“I was also the labourer, painter, tiler,” Papadopoulou adds. Don’t ever underestimate the organisational skills of an artist, Moog says. “People say, what practical skills do you learn in art school? I saw the practical skills … Planning the build, she didn’t use any spreadsheets. It was all in her head. There weren’t even lists. Her mind was like a trap.”
Her Instagram account, @wivenhoehome, is a study in how to win over the neighbours. She posted pictures of her favourite architectural details in Wivenhoe, demonstrating her appreciation of the town’s beauty and history. She posted architects’ drawings, updates on their planning application and build. One posts reads: “Five piles in, five piles to go, I’m really sorry for the noise. Thank you for your patience and support.” A local response said it all: “Fabulous to see this patch of land finally being loved. Great design. Can’t wait to see it going up.”
As the account grew in followers, local craftsmen messaged her; she even found her builder, Sparrow Builders, on Instagram. “She wanted to make people feel a part of it,” Moog says.
The build started in October 2022 and finished in July 2023 — the couple reckon they saved three months by using Sips, insulated prefab panels that are manufactured offsite. The Sips make life inside comfortable, as do the triple-glazed windows and MVHR system. It’s cool in the summer heat, despite the black cladding. And after 20 years freezing in her damp Victorian house, Moog is astonished by how dry and warm it feels here in winter.
Papadopoulou is delighted with the result, as are the neighbours: 40 attended her New Year’s Eve party. She knows part of the reason for the warm reception is she built on a rubbish tip. But they had to like the design too. Wivenhoe’s historic boat-building sheds were demolished when the shipyards were developed for housing. In reviving the town’s vernacular, the couple’s house reflects the zeitgeist as the government calls for developers to build beautifully designed homes with local character. If you want to fend off potential nimbys, give the people what they want.