A pair of semi detached houses built for rent to key workers in the Cairngorms National Park, Scotland, have won an award from Inside Housing. Creagan Gorm Cottages won The Sustainable Smaller Social Housing Project of the Year (25 homes or fewer) category of the Sustainable Housing Awards, 2009. The cottages are built from local timber, with carbon emissions at 48 per cent below building regulations, which is equivalent to level 4 under the code for sustainable homes.
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he homes were built for Albyn Housing Society, designed by John Gilbert Architects, and constructed by McLeod Building Ltd. The judges said.. ‘This is not just environmental box ticking: sensitive and interesting.’ --‘You’d want to live there - it has design quality as well as locally based sustainability and innovative use of local materials.’--‘It was creating a place, it talked about real people as well as being very good to the environment.’
The judges loved this scheme because it is visually pleasing, takes a holistic approach to sustainability and involved the local community in really creating a place. Nestled amid the pines of the Cairngorms National Park, these two homes will weather over time to blend beautifully with their surroundings.
The lucky key workers that get to live here will have views over Scottish mountains to the south and over ancient forest to the north. The three-bedroom homes are built from local timber and additional native trees were plated around the site. The houses meet level 4 under the code for sustainable homes on energy and have a host of water-saving facilities. This scheme isn’t just an attempt to tick boxes and get eco-kudos, but is rather a thoughtful look at who will be living in the homes and where they are, with good design and technologies added accordingly. The local economy and community have also benefited, with materials and workers coming from as near to the site as possible.
The homes are for families who have grown up in the area but who have been pushed out of the market by second home owners around the national park area.
Some of the winning features are:-
* Local sourcing of materials, especially Forest Stewardship Council timber mainly from Scotland. Doors and windows which could not be obtained locally so were imported from FSC-approved sources abroad.
* Only four main materials were sourced outside the UK, for quality reasons.
* Very highly insulated walls, roof and floor: carbon emissions 48 per cent below building regulations, which should vastly reduce heating needs. Roof: 400mm cellulose 0.12 W/m2K. Walls: 195mm cellulose and 60mm wood fibreboard 0.15 W/m2K. Floor: 100mm insulation 0.17 W/m2K
* Multi-fuel stove heating for main rooms.
* Oriented to gain maximum benefit from the sun for light and heat.
* Rainwater harvesting to feed toilets and washing machines, as well as creating a sustainable urban drainage system - there is a 5,000 litre storage tank for each house.
* Low flush toilets and showers.* Two year post-occupancy evaluation planned, with airtightness testing, energy monitoring and tenant interviews.
* Waste minimisation policy with all materials from demolition of toilet and showerblock on the brownfield site removed to a local yard for separation and recycling.
* Local arboriculturalist employed to oversee the work on trees and more than 70 native species trees planted around the site.
* Scottish Natural Heritage made surveys of red squirrel populations, and their habitats were protected during the work.
"he homes were built for Albyn Housing Society, designed by John Gilbert Architects, and constructed by McLeod Building Ltd. The judges said.. ‘This is not just environmental box ticking: sensitive and interesting.’ --‘You’d want to live there - it has design quality as well as locally based sustainability and innovative use of local materials.’--‘It was creating a place, it talked about real people as well as being very good to the environment.’ The judges loved this scheme because it is visually pleasing, takes a holistic approach to sustainability and involved the local community in really creating a place. Nestled amid the pines of the Cairngorms National Park, these two homes will weather over time to blend beautifully with their surroundings. The lucky key workers that get to live here will have views over Scottish mountains to the south and over ancient forest to the north. The three-bedroom homes are built from local timber and additional native trees were plated around the site. The houses meet level 4 under the code for sustainable homes on energy and have a host of water-saving facilities. This scheme isn’t just an attempt to tick boxes and get eco-kudos, but is rather a thoughtful look at who will be living in the homes and where they are, with good design and technologies added accordingly. The local economy and community have also benefited, with materials and workers coming from as near to the site as possible. The homes are for families who have grown up in the area but who have been pushed out of the market by second home owners around the national park area. Some of the winning features are:- * Local sourcing of materials, especially Forest Stewardship Council timber mainly from Scotland. Doors and windows which could not be obtained locally so were imported from FSC-approved sources abroad. * Only four main materials were sourced outside the UK, for quality reasons. * Very highly insulated walls, roof and floor: carbon emissions 48 per cent below building regulations, which should vastly reduce heating needs. Roof: 400mm cellulose 0.12 W/m2K. Walls: 195mm cellulose and 60mm wood fibreboard 0.15 W/m2K. Floor: 100mm insulation 0.17 W/m2K * Multi-fuel stove heating for main rooms. * Oriented to gain maximum benefit from the sun for light and heat. * Rainwater harvesting to feed toilets and washing machines, as well as creating a sustainable urban drainage system - there is a 5,000 litre storage tank for each house. * Low flush toilets and showers.* Two year post-occupancy evaluation planned, with airtightness testing, energy monitoring and tenant interviews. * Waste minimisation policy with all materials from demolition of toilet and showerblock on the brownfield site removed to a local yard for separation and recycling. * Local arboriculturalist employed to oversee the work on trees and more than 70 native species trees planted around the site. * Scottish Natural Heritage made surveys of red squirrel populations, and their habitats were protected during the work."
- Cairngorm key worker homes win an award (view on Google Sidewiki)
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