The Burrows earth-sheltered scheme on greenbelt land aims for Passivhaus

Proposals by Paul Testa Architecture, for The Burrows earth-sheltered Passivhaus achieved planning permission on a greenbelt site in Stocksbridge in 2012.  The 180m² detached new build proposal takes advantage of a sloping site, minimises its visual and ecological impact while achieving the Passivhaus Standard, which is a planning condition.

The client wanted complete control over internal air quality and a low energy home, so Passivhaus was the obvious choice. It's an NPPF paragraph 55 home in green belt, so a bit of a hard sell in planning terms. However, the design was viewed as being exceptional and the prospect of the first Passivhaus in Barnsley authority area was a big positive, hence it becoming a condition of the approval. Paul Testa, Architect.

The simple design ensures all habitable rooms have good southerly orientation to make the most of winter passive solar gain, but the windows and zinc clad eaves are designed so as it minimise summer overheating. This combined with thermal mass, super-insulated, breathable walls, triple glazed windows and the thick grassed roof will make for an incredibly comfortable and healthy house in which to live.

A simple pallet of local stone, timber windows and infill panels, and zinc clad entrance and eaves will give the building a simple, elegant and understated aesthetic that will sit well in its landscape. Not a typical passivhaus in its form, there are some interesting details that will require attention, such as structurally supporting parapets without thermal bridging.

Planning was granted in 2012, however funding has delayed the project coming to site. Construction is due to start March 2015 with estimated costs of £250,000.

Main Team:

Project Owner/Client	Peter Needham
Architect	Paul Testa Architecture
M&E & Environmental Consultants	Passivhaus store MVHR.
Contractor	Moonstone property services
Structural Engineer	ARUP, sheffield
Certifier	WARM date of certification tbc.

      

Key Details:

Predicted Thermal Energy demand (≤15kWh/m2.yr)	11 kWh/m2.yr
Predicted Thermal Energy load  (≤10W/m2)	10 W/m2
Predicted Primary E demand (≤120kWh/m2.yr)	74 kWh/m2.yr

 

Further Information:

www.paultestaarchitecture.co.uk

6th May 2014

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