Sustainable Future | Affordable Housing [Part 1]

tyler dale | U2066046

path to a sustainable future

is more”

- Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

research & analysis

Project Brief

Passivhaus & Embodied Carbon

Net-Zero Strategies Precedent Studies

design development

design proposal

‘sustainability’

“meeting our own needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”

research & analysis

Project Brief

Passivhaus & Embodied Carbon

Design Methodology

Net-Zero Strategies

Precedent Studies

project brief

For many Londoners living on lower incomes, housing is not affordable. Some are faced with paying their rent or heating their homes. In London, social rented housing stock has on average been reduced by 3765 each year since the millennium. In 2018/19, there was an assessed need of 47% of new and additional homes to be social rented, the number delivered was just 5%. Whilst the assessed need for private market homes was 35%, the amount delivered was 82%. London needs genuinely more affordable homes. The Camden community investment program (CIP) is the plan to invest in schools, homes, and community facilities in Camden.

In September of 2022, there was a commitment to expanding the programme by making an additional £1.3 Billion investment that will see the council increasing the numbers of social and affordable homes in Camden. This investment sees that, 4850 new homes will be built [1800 of which will be council homes].

This project aims to tackle social and affordable housing in Camden. My aim is to design a housing scheme that aims towards the certified passivhaus standard (or uses passivhaus design principles) in order to design a scheme that will be affordable, ensure future use of the site, and will lower carbon emissions.

I believe that passivhaus certified buildings may provide the answer to higher quality, sustainable and affordable housing.

what is passivhaus/passive house

Passivhaus is a tried and tested design methodology/ solution that provides a variety of proven methods to help in the delivery of highly energy efficient and netzero-ready new and existing buildings, that provide a high level of occupant comfort whilst using very minimal energy for heating and cooling. Passivhaus dwellings typically use 90% less energy for heating compared to a conventional building. By adopting simple design strategies such as the buildings orientation, external shading, and solar gain solutions, the Passivhaus achieves thermal comfort for occupants by keeping cool in the summer and maintaining warmth in the winter. The design of a passive house is also good for occupants’ health by sustaining the air quality through the air tightness of the building envelope and the constant refreshing of air via the MVHR system.

Highly Efficient net-zero ready less energy

airtight affordable thermal comfort no thermal bridge high quality healthy low carbon

passvhuas main design principles

[1] Form & Orientation,[2] Super Insulation, [3] No Thermal Bridge, [4] Airtightness, [5] High Performance Windows & Doors, [6] Efficient Services, [7] Climate Consideration, [8] Optional Renewables, [9] Optional Heat Pump.

is passivhaus the answer?

To say that passivhaus ‘is’ the answer to affordable and sustainable housing would be a statement that needs evidence to state. However, the design principles of passivhaus have been proven to reduce energy bills which makes heating costs more affordable for people on low incomes. Therefore my statement is that the passivhaus design strategy ‘may’ provide the answer to affordability.

what is embodied carbon?

Embodied carbon is the emissions created in the construction of a building, starting from the removal of raw materials from the earth, until the eventual end of life. The emissions are broken down into different sections, A, B, C and D [see table]. Each of these sections represent various stages of a building’s life cycle.

Section A [upfront carbon] is the emissions released in the production of raw materials, manufacturing, construction, and transport of a building. Section B is the emissions released while the building is in use, such as maintenance and repair and operations [often called operational carbon]. Sections C & D is the emissions released at the end of a building’s life cycle such as the disassembly/ demolition or the recycling/reuse of materials.

There is also an ongoing argument weather a passivhaus building does in-fact reduce the ‘upfront’ cost in carbon emissions due to the rigorous selection and quantity of building materials that may be of a more ‘prestigious’ standard. However, it can be argued that this higher upfront cost is worthwhile due to the overall energy consumption/emissions being reduced over the building’s life cycle. Which is often referred to as embodied carbon.

reducing whole life carbon

A passivhaus building is designed with a methodology to minimise the whole life carbon of a building. The exceptional levels of building performance [by means of its fabric first approach] minimise operational carbon which is the main factor of a passivhaus reducing carbon emissions over its entire life cycle. Operational carbon refers to all activities that are directly related to the ‘inuse’ of a building over its entire lifespan. The Operational energy is the energy used for a building through the processes such as heating, cooling, lighting, ventilation etc, which can be harder to measure as it is highly dependant on the occupants of the building. Passivhaus reduces operational carbon by its optimized design strategies [stated on page 10] and mechanical systems that can be implemented into its design.

my design methodology

My design methodology is to use passivhaus design principles [page 10] and combine this with the whole life carbon table [page 11] in order to combine the affordability of passivhaus [operationally] with a design methodology that aims towards sustainability.

In my design I will aim to provide possible solutions to each point stated in the whole life carbon table.

This methodology will help in my aim to create high quality, affordable and sustainable housing.

other net zero strategies

In the UK’s push towards net-zero by 2050, my design seeks to implement net-zero strategies. To achieve netzero operational carbon, houses should be powered by 100% renewable energy.

With this in mind it is important to state that my design may not in-fact achieve net-zero on all buildings but some strategies may be implemented to help reduce the overall carbon footprint of the project. When combining this with Passivhaus methodology, it helps to reduce carbon emissions further.

Some renewable technologies include: (Possible implementation for project in bold)

• Solar Photovoltaics (PV)

• Wind Power

• Combined heat & power

• MVHR (Mechanical Ventilation Heat Recovery)

• District Heating

• Solar thermal water heating

• Air source heat pumps

• Biomass heating

• Graywater heat recovery

• Battery storage

• Fuel cell

solar photovoltaics

Most valuable when placed on the roof and not overshadowed, panels that are orientated east or west may have a drop off in generation of upto 25% [in comparison to south orientated panels].

There is an argument that having a split system [2kWp facing south & 2kWp facing west] can have benefits over a system orientated due south. This may be something I am willing to explore during design.

For an array of 6 panels at 315w each, the cost is approximately £2400.

Energy savings per year [based on south facing array of 6 panels at 1.89 KWp]: £240.20

solar thermal hot water

An array of STHW collectors can be installed on a roof that is at least 5m2. They are used to produce ‘low grade’ hot water that is used to pre-heat domestic hot water that can be used in the building and can offset the demand of other water heating systems such as an air source heat pump.

The cost is approximately £3000 for an area upto 5m2. The predicted annual energy savings of this system is 2500 kWh [roughly 25kg/CO2 per annum].

Energy savings per year: £125, In addition of a renewable heat incentive income of approximately £275 per year [payback period of 7.5 years].

battery storage

Over the past year, the cost of batteries for battery storage has significantly reduced, and still is reducing. This means that the installations of this system are becoming more and more common.

Battery storage could be used in buildings to increase the PV use on site and ensure that more of the electricity generated from the PV panels is used within the building rather than sold to the national grid.

air source heat pump

If the main heating plant was to be considered to be an electrical heat generation source where there was no need for fuels such as gas. The PV Panles would be able to support the air source heat pump boiler and other systems. The ambition is to create an all electrical solution to heating.

Highly efficient building systems such as the ASHP, PV, MVHR and LED Lighting will provide a 50% energy reduction compared to conventional housing and hot water services. ASHP supported by PV Panles provides the optimum space heating solution. Solar hot water may also assist in reducing this load even further. Space heating will also be further reduced by the MVHR.

mvhr

The mechanical ventilation heat recovery system provides fresh filtered air into a building whilst retaining most of the energy that has already been used in heating the building. It provides the solution to ventilation needs of energy efficient buildings. The MVHR extracts air from polluted sources [kitchen, bathroom, toilets] and supplies air into occupied rooms. It does this by taking the air through a central heat exchanger where the heat is recovered into the supply air. The magic of this system is that it works both ways, if the air temperature on the inside is colder than the outside temperature, then the ‘cool air’ is maintained. Saves approximately 50 kWhr/m2/a. The system could save upto £207 per year on heating costs.

goldsmith street| precedent study

Norwich councils Goldsmith Street is a Passivhaus certified scheme that was completed in October of 2019. Goldsmith Street is a social housing scheme that consists of 45 houses and 60 flats all done within the budget of £14.5m.

Mikhail Riches Architects submitted a passive solar design in a parallel layout arranged to admit low-angle winter sun and to exclude high-angle summer sun, which is a proven strategy in Passive design. The approach set out by Mikhail Riches for this project was to re-introduce traditional terrace streets and houses into an area of Norwich which was mostly dominated by high density flats.

There was to be existing links between the surrounding area by utilising the existing local roads and parks into the arrangement of blocks on the site. By doing this, Architects Mikhail Riches ‘connected the community’ to a new development whilst also having no effect on biodiversity and geological conservation by building new access points (roads) into the development.

To optimize solar gain, all dwellings were orientated south so that the uses of mechanical systems in the winter would be reduced by maximising solar gain [minimising operational carbon].

The blocks were intentionally spaced from each other by 14m [see section below], and the roofs were designed asymmetrical with a shallow pitch on the north side so that each terrace did not overshadow the one behind it.

This also allowed the project to have an ‘urban feel’ in the mist of the dominated urban environment and allows for a sense of small community in the spaces between blocks.

Another key aspect of the goldsmith project is the architect’s vision to create a space of communities coming together and increasing biodiversity, which can be seen in the large green spaces located throughout the projects such as the ‘wild-flower landscape’ of which is immediately adjacent to midland street park.

site plan

1 | Midland Park

2 | Play Area

3 | Wildflower Garden

4 | Central Landscape

5 | Shared Ginnels

Mikhail Riches. (2021). Goldsmith Street [JPG]. JCT. https://corporate.jctltd.co.uk/goldsmith-street/

ECD architects | precedent study

In May of 2022, ECD Architects were appointed to design and deliver a mixed tenure, low carbon housing project. In the councils drive towards becoming Net-Zero by the year 2038, the project was to consist of 103 units to be provided, 20 of which would be designed to passivhaus standard and one unit which would in fact, achieve netzero. The ambitions of the council was to maximise the use of modern methods on construction in an attempt to achieve a minimum of 31% reduction in carbon emissions.

The approach set by ECD Architects aimed to implement sustainable design principles not only to dwellings but also to the existing external environment, to enhance the sustainability of the site and the additional dwellings separately. These design principles were, fabric first approach, climate resilient design, renewables, ambitious embodied carbon targets, modern methods of construction and to design towards a circular economy. Where this differs from the Goldsmith Street project in terms of fabric first design is that the Goldsmith Street project aimed completely for all dwellings to be certified passivhaus. In the ECD Architects scheme, the fabric first approach was the very first ‘ground-zero’ principle whether designing to the passivhaus standard or otherwise.

ECD Architects also had a principal design approach towards climate resilient design. This includes the consideration of strategies to relieve the changing climate such as SUDs (sustainable drainage systems), rainwater harvesting and grey water recycling

The main idea was to bring green open spaces further into the site where development could take place to create a pedestrianised ‘green avenue’ where there would be spaces for planting trees, creating seating, and creating small play areas.

The second idea was to have a continuation of vehicle access to the already existing fifth avenue and for the new road layout/vehicle access point to reflect the already curved nature of fifth avenue.

The third main conceptual idea was to develop the layout of dwellings to connect the surrounding open spaces to the green network that had been created in order to frame views towards the green belt.

The aims from the initial layout was to create cycle and pedestrian friendly spaces that prioritises residents in order to maintain privacy while also connecting the community, of which would help to improve the well-being and life quality of residents.

The layout also increased and enhanced the biodiversity of the site by using hedges instead of walls or fences, and also used additional features such as bee bricks, integral bat bricks or green roof habitat shelters which were introduced over bike storage and bin stores.

This project is still in the planning stages of design and therefore, no extra images than I have received directly from ECD architects can be provided.

Kirklees scheme developed layout | ECD Architects. (2022). Second Avenue Housing Development Liversedge, Kirklees WF15 8JP STAGE 2 FEASIBILITY REPORT.

the site

Site Location

Framework Area

Analysis [context]

Analysis [environment & access]

Visions For The Area

site location | camden

The project location is in London, Camden. There was a selection of sites that were proposed to us during the module brief [morrisons site & sainsburys site], however, I wanted to research the Camden area thoroughly to find an area of need. During my research, I came across an area of regeneration in Camden [Gospel Oak]. This region was among the areas where Camden council were focusing attention to improve. This raised the perfect opportunity to research this region more to be able to locate a site of regeneration for my project.

framework area | gospel oak

The community vision framework area includes most of the gospel oak region as well as the northern half of Haverstock [not included in diagram].

The ‘core area’ is where the main focus of estate regeneration/renewal will occur. In the core area is where greatest needs for development is needed and will likely be the area that will undergo the most significant change in this region of Camden.

The selected site for this project is located inside the ‘core area’ of Gospel Oak which cements why I have chosen this site as opposed to other sites mentioned.

analysis | context

Site

Primary Vehicle Roads

Cycle Routes

Queens Crescent [Main Commercial Sector]

Public Green Space

School

Grade I Listed Building

Grade II Listed Building

Grade II* Listed Building St. Martins Church | Heritage Asset

Built in the 1860’s, the St Martin’s church (grade I listed) is one of many heritage assets of national significance in the area and is situated directly adjacent to the selected site. This is something to think about when designing the housing scheme, to not ‘hinder’ its presence in the area, but instead, add to it.

analysis | environment & access

Site

Potential Site Access [Vehicle]

Secondary Vehicle Access

Sun Path

Pedestrian Route

Summer Solstice | June 21st 2023

Sun Rise | 04:42

Sun Sets | 21:22

Highest Angle | 62 Degrees

Spring Equinox | March 20th 2023

Sun Rise | 06:03

Sun Sets | 18:13

Highest Angle | 38 Degrees

Winter Solstice | December 21st 2023

Sun Rise | 08:03

Sun Sets | 15:53

Highest Angle | 15 Degrees @ 12:00

MAIN VISIONS FOR THE AREA

BETTER access to places to play, relax, socialise and interact with nature.

Homes better linked to SPACES

NEW quality afforadable

improveconnections to queens cresent

Improve air quality energy efficient and low carbon buildings.

New improved green spaces community facilities

Residents and sense

AREA [FROM GOSPEL OAK COMMUNITY]

better to OPEN SPACES

quality and afforadable homes

New and improved green spaces and community facilities.

better connected areas, improved cycle and walking routes.

better health and sustainability outcomes.

Residents to feel respected listened to. And have a sense of ownership.

initial design Concepts

Initial Sketch Designs

Design Drivers

concept one | expanding green

The very first design ambition was to extend the green spaces into my site and create a green link. This also helps in bringing a ‘new life’ to the Grade 1 Listed Church adjacent to the site, by avoiding the erecting of buildings on the eastern boundary [directly in front of the church].

concept two | linking routes

The next design decision was to reinforce the created green link by also linking cycle and pedestrian routes along the established green link. This will make for better movement along green spaces from Lismore circus gardens [park] to the north, and Queens Crescent to the south.

Linked Pedestrian Route Junction

Linked Cycle Route Junction

concept three | main vehicle access

The main vehicle access point will make use of an already existing ‘turn in’ point where the road has already been constructed to go into the site [make use of the existing]. It would be most logical to have the main vehicle access point from Vicars Road, however, if this was done, the road would be uses as a bypass from 2 main primary roads [north & south] and would result in busy traffic build up through the site [no-one wants busy traffic outisde their front door].

rooftop & roof | no overshadowing

To combat not all buildings facing south, rooftop terraces were added as part of the vertical circulation points to ensure that residents would have a safe space to relax at any time.

The drawing [section AA, drawing on opposite page] shows that the [blue] building has a higher building height than the others, with [pink] being higher than [red]. This ‘step’ design allows for the sun to penetrate south faces of each building [with an exception of the floors below] which in an attempt to combat this, adding a side terrace.

The roofs were designed with a 15 degree pitch on the north side to ensure that the roof did not overshadow the building behind it.

design drivers

bio-diversity | creating habitats

“the variety of plant and animal life in the world, or in a particular habitat, a high level of which is usually considered to be important and desirable”

My design seeks to boost biodiversity through implementing strategies such as wildflower gardens, habitat ponds, bee bricks and more green areas. These strategies were learnt during research into sustainability and also during my precedent studies.

modular construction | designing for deconstruction

A key factor that drove this design, was the method of construction. With this being a Passivhaus social housing scheme and creating a ‘sustainable community’ the method of construction was to be ‘sustainable’. I wanted to select my method of construction at the early stages to move forwards with design decisions.

One of my main ambitions was to use Modular Construction and pre-fabrication to my advantage. By selecting modular construction, it ensures the future use of the site by designing for the ‘de-construction’ of a building. This was heavily influenced by designing for whole life carbon.