Rivers Street
£1.2 million super insulated ‘Zero Carbon’ homes comprising a terrace of houses and separate bungalows completed in 2016.
Vivid
Feasibility Study, Concept Development, Detailed Planning Drawings, Construction Drawings, Technical Support
01 Background
Comprising a parcel of vacant land and a mother and baby unit that had been vacated due to anti-social issues, the practice had been working with the client for in excess of 15 years to achieve their desire to improve the area with affordable housing.
Due to our experience and expertise in sustainable design, the practice was appointed to design a scheme for 4no. houses and 3no. bungalows which were designed to meet Code for Sustainable Homes level 4 and Code 5 for energy in accordance with Portsmouth City Council’s ‘Sustainable Design Construction’ Policy. In addition, 4 of the units were designed to Passivhaus principles.
02 The story
The scheme was designed as a terrace of houses and separate bungalows, responding to the local context and housing need. These were constructed using traditional methods using a simple pallet of materials utilising a modern language. In order to eliminate some of the anti-social issues of the past, careful consideration was placed on the arrangement and quality of the landscaping. Ensuring that public spaces and parking areas were well overlooked with robust low maintenance planting throughout and private amenity spaces that were securely enclosed in line with the Secured by Design standards.
These super insulated ‘Zero Carbon’ homes benefit from a ‘fabric first’ approach to design with typical U-Values as low as 0.12W/m2K, air permeability of 0.6 air changes per hour, a yearly heating (provided by a small gas boiler) and cooling demand less than 15Kwh/m3 and primary energy demand of 120Kwh/m2. Ventilation to the units is provided by a certified high efficiency MVHR (Mechanical Ventilation with heat Recovery) system.
The completed scheme, costing £1.2 million, has led to a drastic reduction in crime and anti-social behaviour in the area and has acted to rejuvenate this run-down area of Portsmouth.
At KSA our people is our culture.
People are at the centre of everything we do, we foster and nurture a creative and innovative environment in which all excel.
03 The outcome for Rivers Street
The development was shortlisted for the Portsmouth Society Design Awards Best New Building 2018.
“KSA provide an excellent comprehensive professional service with a client focus”
John Waterfield, VIVID, Land and Planning Manager, KSA
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