The triangle, Swindon

DETAILS:

- The Triangle is a new low-energy, housing development in Swindon

- The Triangle is one of the most resource efficient new housing developments in England, striving to provide a high quality of life for its residents in an affordable and practical way.

CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUE & MATERIALS :

- TERRACES of cottages set on four sides of a carefully landscaped village green contain 42 low-energy homes.

- They use timber-frame structures and Hemcrete EXTERNAL WALLS finished in traditional lime render. .( Hemcrete is a natural fibrous product, which is carbon negative and made from the woody stem of English grown hemp mixed with a lime binder )

- The homes are super-insulated using 350mm of Hemcrete in the walls, which means heat loss is minimised.

- The Hemcrete acts as an insulator and provides thermal inertia helping to reduce temperature peaks, offering very good air tightness and thermal performance.

- The proportion of glazing to each façade has been adjusted to give the greatest solar gain in winter without overheating in summer.

- All habitable rooms maximise use of natural daylight to improve the quality of the spaces and reduce the need for artificial lighting.

- Design was heavily influenced by the surrounding vernacular and based on Swindon’s architectural history incorporating mid-Victorian terraced housing and inter-war semi-detached properties.

- The total of 63 car spaces is strategically underpinned by a range of measures designed to the need for car ownership, including provision for a community car club, the first in Swindon and IT facilities within the homes to access real time information on buses as well as to encourage working from home.

CONCEPT :

- The Triangle is an evolution of the English terraced house which creates excellent, ordinary housing on an ordinary budget.

- The aim was to make the ordinary extraordinary through close attention to the smallest elements while at the same time making a place that is inherently local to Swindon.

- The heating is interlocked with a motorised insulated ventilation hatch so that it can not operate unless the hatch is closed.

- In winter, this allows the warmth generated on the ground floor to rise through the house and in summer it allows the stack ventilation to function, drawing warm air to escape through the ventilation cowl, a signature element of the active energy systems in homes.

- The layout of the houses were planned to provide an ‘air lock’ hallway and the stairs have been arranged to provide unimpeded connections with the living space to the rest of the house.

- The simple, long building forms were given vertical expression through the detailing of the entrances, cowls and windows, while traditional building materials such as timber, lead and hemp were used in a contemporary and sustainable way.

- Throughout the procurement and construction phases of The Triangle, all materials were specified with consideration to the embodied energy, recyclable content and maintenance requirements while offering high performance levels.

- Each house has a galvanized steel portico that shelters two vertical bike racks next to the front door and gabion wall bin surrounds to screen parked cars in the front gardens.

- The homes have a range of sustainable features including, air source heat pumps, rainwater harvesting systems and most noticeably thermal chimneys that allow hot air to escape from the homes.