Social housing championing Passivhaus at scale

More than two-thirds of local councils have declared a climate emergency. They now face a challenge - how to meet net-zero targets whilst urgently delivering affordable homes for their residents? Committed to tackling fuel poverty, improving tenant’s wellbeing, and meeting climate action pledges, Passivhaus is a no-brainer. It offers a reliable & cost-effective route to slashing energy use and, backed by over 30 years of evidence, is proven to crush the performance gap.

The 2019 Stirling Prize win for Norwich City Council’s Goldsmith Street pushed sustainable social housing into a new stratosphere, inspiring many other councils to set higher standards & aspirations. We have seen a boom in councils & housing associations targeting or trialling multi-home Passivhaus developments. There are several exciting 50+ home Passivhaus developments in the pipeline. Below are a few on the horizon:

	Nailsea Passivhaus Client: North Somerset Council Status: Planning won April 2021 No. homes: 50 Key Team: Mikhail Riches, Greengauge Nailsea is a landscape-led housing project addressing the transition between suburban and rural landscapes. Enhancing local wildlife, the 50 new homes benefits from a sunny south-facing aspect.
	Ealing Council Housing Client: Ealing Council Status: Planning won May 2021 No. homes: 134 Key Team: QODA Consulting, WARM, Bell Phillips Architects 134 mixed-tenure homes across six redundant and underused brownfield sites in Ealing. 70% affordable homes with 73 homes complying with London Affordable Rents.
	Burnholm Passivhaus Client: City of York Council Status: Planning won April 2021 No. homes: 83 Key Team: Mikhail Riches, WARM, LEDA, URBED An ambitious council housing programme across several plots delivering 600 homes over 5 years, much of which is targeting Passivhaus certification. 34 homes at Duncombe Barracks have also received planning permission.
	Plashett Road Client: Newham Council Status: Planning won May 2021 No. units: 65 Key Team: Levitt Bernstein, Etude, Max Fordham New homes for social rent designed to a Passivhaus standard, along with a nursery and landscaped courtyard. The £22 million development is expected to complete in late 2022.
	Portsmouth City Council Client: Portsmouth City Council Status: Awaiting Planning decision No. homes: 91 Key Team: TBC £27m funding approved for 91 new homes in various sites in Havant. 63 new homes will be built at Strouden Court, and the other 28 dwellings will be built in several spots around Wecock Farm. The council plan to train three in-house architects in Passivhaus accreditation.
	Agar Grove Regeneration Client: Camden Council Status: Phase 1a complete & certified. Phase 1b soon to be completed, & 1c at the commencement stage. No. homes: Approx. 500 Key Team: Hawkins\ Brown, Architype, Max Fordham, WARM, Enhabit, Elemental Solutions An ambitious phased council housing regeneration scheme that aims to almost double its housing capacity on the same estate.

Are we missing your large social housing scheme? Tell us about your Passivhaus project.

In 2022 we continue with the next phase of the Passivhaus Social Housing Campaign.  Guidance, videos, and recordings of previous events are free to access for Housing Associations & Local Authorities to help you along the journey towards Passivhaus and net-zero homes.

For the latest examples of UK Passivhaus projects check out the 2021 UK Passivhaus Awards finalists and our projects gallery.

 

Further Information

Passivhaus for Social Housing

UK Passivhaus Project Gallery

12th May 2021

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