This innovative project is designed to illustrate how residential dwellings might be designed and built in the UK by 2020. The homes are designed with the new definition of zero carbon in mind, i.e. to achieve 70% carbon compliance on site and to use allowable solutions for the remaining carbon emissions. The homes are high performance, with good air tightness and thermal performance aimed at meeting the new Fabric Energy Efficiency Standard(FEES) built into SAP 2009 and the new definition of the Code for Sustainable Homes. Achieving a 5% daylight factor was a requirement of the brief. This fits into the Active House principles developed by Velux for all their pan-European Model Home projects. The principles are that homes should be well lit and naturally ventilated where possible to promote building occupiers health and well-being.
HTA were commissioned to develop a highly sustainable home (CfSH:5 and PassivHaus) constructed from volumetric steel. As well as needing to use progressive sustainable materials, processes and methods, the house above all had to demonstrate key technologies, be desirable to occupants, be affordable and familiar to developers. Materials include natural stone, timber panel and brick, with photovoltaic and green roof designs integrated.
We are working with Peabody on a project as part of the Retrofit for the Future Programme, funded by the Technology Strategy Board. The aim of the project is to demonstrate how to achieve 80% reductions in the CO2 emissions of the existing housing stock. The project was restricted to family houses, as they represent the bulk of the UK existing stock. Our client wanted to assess how to treat some of their more modern housing stock, built in the 1970’s and chose a terrace of four dwellings in Elizabeth Close in Haringey. The principle that was adopted in the design was to solve the emissions reduction problem by carrying out works outside the dwelling where possible. To this end, it was decided to insulate the dwellings from the outside, replace the windows with high performance versions and because the remaining heating load is low, to replace individual heating systems with a communal system. A small Photovoltaic array is also needed to achieve the 80% reductions.
