What is a Contemporary Home in 2024, MESH Energy Talk

Darren was invited by MESH Energy to present the talk ‘What is a contemporary home going to look like in 2024’ earlier this month, looking at our projects to discuss and explain the current trends we are seeing in the design of sustainable homes.

As a business we believe in using architecture to create sustainable homes, we understand that ethically and morally it is our responsibility as architects to use design to make contemporary houses that are kind to our clients, the surroundings and the planet. To build a new build house can produce up to 31% more embodied carbon than refurbishing an existing structure, which is why as a business we believe in reusing and reimagining existing dwellings where it is possible. Throughout the design process we have energy efficiency at the forefront of our minds, by adopting a fabric first approach, following Passivhaus principles and feeding as many of the UN sustainability development goals into each of our projects.

At our Brockenhurst project the clients were pushing the sustainable approach from the onset. At the early stages of the design process, we collaborated with MESH Energy to get an Energy Strategy Planning report done on the existing structure which was an extremely useful report which informed the design solution for the home and also offered the client a helpful breakdown of upfront costs compared to annual savings.

The project is currently progressing well on site, the work includes a contemporary rear extension that ties into the garden, key energy efficiency solutions include full over cladding, new triple glazed Internorm windows, insulation upgrade to walls and roof and addressing overheating concerns with sun shading introduced over large glazing in the garden.

It is always a challenge to push the sustainable agenda on clients, as this does have an impact on the budget but it is important to be able to show the initial costs and highlight the potential savings and impact. Understandable a major challenge on all refurbishment projects in the issue with VAT, many find it difficult to justify a refurbishment if they can save having to pay 20% VAT with a new build home. Interestingly, we have worked with some savvy clients who have deliberately purchased houses that have been empty, as there is often a clause that can get the VAT reduced down to around 5% for homes that have been unoccupied for many years.

When working with existing buildings things are not straightforward, clients need to be passionate about the sustainable agenda to move these projects forward. We have also found that working with good builders in very important, we try to recommend builders who will stick to the drawings and specification, especially if we are not retained onsite during the build, to ensure the completed home is as energy efficient as it was designed.

Our Burley house is unfortunately a structure that is past its best, so on this occasion we have looked to rebuild with an upgraded structure. Architecturally the replacement dwelling is contemporary vernacular, drawn from the natural agricultural aesthetic of the surrounding area. Sitting on a long and skinny plot, the house is arranged around a series of courtyards that connect with the landscape, brings in natural daylight, ventilation and offer shading.

Designed to be constructed from cross laminate walls and roof touch, the home will touch the ground lightly by sitting on screw piles, without a need for concrete foundations, reducing the impact to the landscape and allow trees and planting to be conserved on site.

You can hear the full webinar here, or get in touch to discuss your next project with us.

Cedar Wood near completed onsite

We are really proud to see our Cedar Wood project nearing completion, it is great to see our designs and ideas come into reality onsite and we cannot wait to see this home finish very soon.

The designs have retrofitted the existing home; extending and reconfiguring the space to transform the existing house and make it more suitable for the family life of the owners. As the home is set within a sensitive rural location the designs had to carefully alter the home without impacting the original mass or form, to reduce to impact on the surrounding area.

Once the work has been completed Cedar Wood will be a comfortable, low energy family home with flexibility built into the design so it can adapt to the many phases of their family life.

We look forward to sharing professional photos of the completed home very soon.

National Park Planning Success

We are thrilled to have achieved planning approval for our contemporary extension of Moorlands, a distinctive 1970’s property in set in Brockenhurst, Hampshire, at the heart of the New Forest National Park.

The planning process within a national park can seem daunting for many homeowners, as there are additional rules and stipulations on what you can and cannot get planning for within the park. We are well versed in these details, having successfully worked on many properties within the New Forest national park, and were delighted to have achieved planning for this home in Brockenhurst on the first application.

The design reconfigures the ground floor, maximising the space available and enhancing the functionality of the house for the growing family. The scheme extends and opens up the kitchen and dining area, increasing connectivity to the rest of the home and the large garden. During the construction work the dwelling will be thermally upgraded to deliver a low energy, comfortably home. Full details of the project can be found here.

Design and De-Growth

This post, written by Amanda Moore in collaboration with Studio BAD Architects, explores reasons to work towards a frugal architecture. Four design case study projects will follow, in separate posts, covering a variety of sectors in order to interrogate the credibility of a rebalance between the amount of construction and end user ‘benefit’.

It has been long-established in human society that growth is innately linked to progress. It may be a natural urge within us to grow and produce.

Rising GDP is linked to growth and political success. However, it is also being linked to rising environmental impact in terms of increased materials and energy needed to produce and use goods. Should we scrap using GDP as a measure of success in favour of a happiness index, (www.world happiness.report), if we really feel the need to rank ourselves against other countries?

De-growth is an economic theory born in the 1970s which looks at the merits of shrinking economies and saving the earth’s resources. There is good reason to fear de-growth, being able to pay for public services through taxation for example. Should we reduce production and growth and hence our working hours? Or, can we have the same amount of a greener-growth?

If we need financial growth to pay for services, can there be a reduction in some less beneficial sectors such as carbon-intensive food production including meats, cheap fashion and other cheap products and new-build construction? Could we see an increase in other sectors such as skills and education, leisure, health, public transport and other services which are less carbon-intensive by nature and may provide more satisfaction and enjoyment to end-users.

In architecture, should there be a post-growth movement? Architects Declare notes a pledge to ‘Upgrade existing buildings for extended use as a more carbon efficient alternative to demolition and new build whenever there is a viable choice’. This architecture wouldn’t serve to start with maximising building on a site for profit, but look to re-use existing buildings and sites for maximum gain and enjoyment to end users. Should this idea be part of the RIBA and ARB’s ethics codes?

Within the various large practices I’ve worked for,  projects mainly focused on maximising the amount of building on a site in order for the client to afford the construction costs and make a profit, particularly if expensive demolition and foundations were involved. Production to afford production. More construction is seen as the only ‘viable’ choice by many developers.

Architects may start with a smaller budget project and then encourage their client to go for a much larger one. This in part ensures a steady stream of fees, a bird in the hand is better than a hundred competitions in the bush. Charging based on a percentage of construction value rather than man-hours used can encourage architects to push clients to go for more construction. Taking on bigger and bigger-costed projects with the greater indemnity insurance and staffing requirements that can entail can then result in practices having to continually power up and up like a pyramid scheme, working to keep a bloating practice afloat.

More time should be spent on the feasibility stages of built environment projects to determine the actual needs of the local community and do the building work actually required, then determining the lowest embodied and operational carbon options. This feasibility service by architects should always be paid for by clients, not given by architects in the hope of winning/creating a lucrative  and prestigious project to work on at the end.

A friend who isn’t an architect once asked me, ‘haven’t architects built all the buildings?’ which seemed like a naive comment at the time. In actuality, there ARE a lot of buildings, and refurbishment and reuse could have been employed on most of the large projects I have worked on in practice before starting work as a freelancer, bar railway infrastructure projects.

Nowadays, most of the projects I work on are light-touch public space projects, installing artworks and outdoor furniture to activate underused spaces. Many are refurbishments, particularly for church buildings which require adjustments for custodians to carry out community-serving activities. Refurbishment has been forced onto many Christian churches who are trapped within their large, beautiful, historic listed buildings which are difficult to heat in the UK winters. Light-touch approaches over demolition are the only viable ones such as partitioning parts of the building which can be more efficiently heated, or using buildings seasonally. Going in with large and expensive technology such as air source heat pumps may also not be the best solution for older, less airtight and insulated building stock and may not solve the carbon problem when there is no wind or sun to run them in winter. At Studio BAD we work as a network of disciplines including design, building physics, building services, planning, costing and delivery/material sourcing from the outset to evaluate and test the best options in terms of cost, community benefit and environmental impact.

Materials should also be specified in relation to the lifespan of the building or it’s intended use, ie; is carbon-intensive concrete required for a new building or refurbishment which may only be used for 10 years, is a client willing to use materials which are less carbon-intensive but require more maintenance? Do buildings have to be made of the most robust/static and maintenance-free materials to retain their financial value to a client?

So, what are architects offering clients and the community and what could they offer with frugality being given priority in their design processes? Can they still add value? Can this value be credibly measured by social and community impact? If it is still financial value to the landowner, should architects be paid in relation to how much money they actually save the client rather than spend in terms of the amount of building work which needs to be done?

St Margaret’s Church Film

Working with the brilliant team at E&J Videography, we have put together a short film detailing our St Margaret’s Church. In the video we discuss the design and the concept behind it, by talking to key members of the team from all aspects of the church – management, end user and of course the design team.

St Margaret's Church Film

Building Trends for 2023

THE AGE OF DEEP RETROFIT AND REIMAGINED EXISTING BUILDINGS

I was asked to predict the a key trend for 2023, by Homebuilding & Renovating Magazine. The one trend I can see being high on all those self-build enthusiasts list this year, is deep retrofit of existing buildings.

We are already seeing this in the self-build industry, where homeowners and those investing in new properties and projects are looking to invest in the fabric of their buildings so that they can save energy in the long term. This is in response to the challenging times we face, with energy costs, rising inflation and how this impacts on construction costs.

So this may include new triple glazed windows, insulating the fabric of a building first, existing walls, roof and floor. It makes sense to put investment into the existing envelope of the building first, before investing in the interiors such as kitchens, bathrooms, lighting and decoration. There is a move to upgrade building fabric now, so that money can be saved and put aside for further improvements on buildings.

We are working with many clients on existing buildings and a phased approach or meanwhile delivery is becoming more prevalent where funds are prioritised to invest on upgrading elements, prior to delivery of perhaps new elements and extensions. In some cases, extensions may be built up to a shell level, so insulated and weather tight, until funds become available to complete and install finishes.

I think we will see a continuing trend for client’s and architects, being smart, taking these moves in order that the continuing pressure on budgets energy, material costs and interest rates, will simple mean that this has come out of a necessity, to have a clear strategy of how you plan your self-build refurbishment, sourcing and prioritised affordable materials, in an age where materials are constantly increasing.