Wimbish Passivhaus
Subscribe now to instantly view this image
Subscribe to the Architects’ Journal (AJ) for instant access to the AJ Buildings Library, an online database of nearly 2,000 exemplar buildings in photographs, plans, elevations and details.
Already a subscriber? Sign in
Mark Baigent (website) Download Original
Affordable housing constructed to a certified Passivhaus standard in a rural location
The 14 dwelling development includes six one-bed flats, five two-bedroom houses and three three-bedroom houses all constructed to Code for Sustainable Homes Level 4 and also to Secure by Design and Lifetime Homes standards.
The houses, which have traditional trussed pitched roofs on thin joint blockwork, are externally insulated and rendered with triple glazed composite windows and supported off an insulated raft. The layout employs south facing private gardens and passive solar gain techniques, as well as sophisticated solar shading elements to prevent overheating.
The highly insulated structures and thermally bridge free detailing provide an effective building fabric which, when combined with detailed solar and occupancy gains and mechanical ventilation with heat recovery deliver exceptional energy performance.
The homes are being fully monitored for two years by UEA to aid understanding of the energy savings that accrue through use of Passivhaus techniques.
Data
- Begun: Mar 2010
- Completed: Jun 2011
- Floor area: 990m2
- Sector: Residential
- Total cost: £1.7M
- Procurement: JCT Design & Build
- Address: Tye Green, Wimbish, Essex, CB10, United Kingdom
Professional Team 
- Architect: Parsons + Whittley
- Client: Hastoe Housing Association
- Structural engineer: Richard Jackson PLC
- Quantity surveyor: Davis Langdon
- Planning supervisor: Davis Langdon
- Main contractor: Bramall Construction