It's great that work has started on the construction of this project however the estimated cost of £1.5m is way in excess of what was reported (£675k) on this site in July last year. The design does not appear to have changed much so begs the question about how accurate the original cost estimates were! A charity is sold a vision it really aspires to but must be gutted that the professionals advising them (even on a pro-bono basis) cannot get the costs close. So needless to say the charity has had to increase its fundraising drive! Sounds as if the architects/QS's sold something they could not guarantee delivering. I am absolutely certain there must have been contractors and suppliers at the time telling them their expectations were misplaced (financially). No doubt it will be a great piece of architecture but was some of the advice at the outset?

Looks very nice, but £1.5m for a three bedroom house! Also, seems to be a bit in excess of the 25% wall area as glazing that the building regs recommend.

Last years article said the project was £650K.
The headline here says £1m.
The first sentence then says £1.5m.
Which is correct Urban Realm?

The estimated build cost back in May of last year was £650k. The £1m figure today relates to the design and build of the home (including fit out and fittings).

A further £500k is being sought to cover running costs.

I might be missing something but just can't understand why enough people have thought it appropriate to spend so much on just one house. I know there presumably are adaptations for disabled, perhaps some things are more expensive to make for easier maintenance in the future seeing as it's a holiday home and I get that everyone wants it be really nice for the families who get to go there but surely more than one could be delivered for that amount of cash and then more families could benefit.

This rips ma knitting. Holiday home? Looks more like a art gallery or exhibition space. Heating and maintenance costs will be unnecessarily excessive for a start.
No wonder architects are in decline when you have snakeoil salesmen like these telling clients they know better. They should take a long hard look in the mirror!