Palomar Court | Barking and Dagenham |
CLIENT Be First
LOCATION East Gasgoigne Estate, London Borough of Barking and Dagenham
DURATION 2022 - 2023
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To redesign Palomar Court, a block of 8 new homes within the East Gascoigne development using Willmott Dixion's Collida Living Platform.
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VZDV assisted Willmott Dixon to develop the Collida Living Platform, and was approached to perform the detailed design and drawings for the Palomar Court.
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The objective was to apply the Collida Living design platform to achieve Passivhaus certification. If successful, it will be the first Passivhaus certified homes for Be First.
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The project proved that the Collida Living platform can deliver Passivhaus certified homes in a real-life application. The platform is flexible enough to be applied to a development that already has planning permission, and still deliver significant efficiencies in whole life-cycle and operational carbon and energy.
In proud collaboration with:
Willmott Dixon
BACKGROUND
In collaboration with Willmott Dixon, VZDV were involved in the redesign of a residential block on the East Gascoigne Estate using their Collida Living Platform. Palomar Court is an important pilot by Be First (Barking and Dagenham Council’s regeneration arm) resulting in the borough's greenest housing block, with eight new homes certified to the Passivhaus Classic standard to give its residents exceptionally low energy bills.
Being Passivhaus means that the building must comply with the clear, measurable targets set out by the Passivhaus Trust. By using a ‘fabric first’ approach the homes are airtight, energy efficient, and have much higher level of thermal comfort than most homes delivered to building regulations or other credentials.
Triple glazed windows, improved ventilation, and high levels of insulation, provide protection from noise pollution and prevent damp and mould developing while maintaining a steady, comfortable, warm indoor temperature.
THE OBJECTIVE
To redesign Palomar Court, a block of 8 new homes within the East Gascoigne development using Willmott Dixion's Collida Living Platform. The difficulty was that the block had already been designed, with detailed planning permission secured and had to be delivered in accordance with the original planning permission to Passivhaus certified standards. If successful, it will be the first Passivhaus certified homes for Be First.
THE CHALLENGE
The services had to be redesigned to achieve Passivhaus certification, while working within the constraints of the original planning permission. Passivhaus requires higher levels of comfort in summer, and the key challenge was to deliver Passivhaus levels of comfort without fundamentally altering the window sizes of the original design.
Some of the key principals of Passivhaus include:
~ High quality insulation in the walls, floor and roof
~Minimised thermal bridges
~Passivhaus quality windows and doors
~Mechanical ventilation with heat recovery
~High levels of air tightness
THE DEFINING MOMENT
VZDV conducted extensive thermal modelling, and worked closely with the architect, acoustician and Passivhaus certifier to devise strategies to comply with the overheating requirements, while maintaining the appearance of the building as approved by the planners. Minor alterations were made to window dimensions and specifications which were agreed with the planners as minor amendments.
THE TRANSFORMATION
Palomar Court was successfully delivered and received Passivhaus certification, delivering on its promise to be the first Passivhaus certified homes for Be First. Passivhaus homes use 1/8th of the heating of a standard home. The air permeability test delivered 0.4 m3/h/2, which is below the Passivhaus standard of 0.6 m3/h/m2 and 25 times better than that required under building regulations.
Also, thanks to high quality insulation and mechanical ventilation with heat recovery, the buildings are healthier, the humidity and temperature levels remain almost constant throughout the day which means there is no risk of condensation or mould and with filters on the ventilation, no health problems from pollution.
LEARNINGS
The project proved that the Collida Living platform an deliver Passivhaus certified homes in a real life application. The platform is flexible enough to be applied to a development that already has planning permission, and still deliver significant efficiencies in whole life cycle and operational carbon and energy.
RECOGNITIONS
Palomar Court was awarded Green Building Project of the Year at UK Green Business Awards 2024
Palomar Court won Residential Project of the Year at SECBE Awards 2024
NEXT STEPS
VZDV now has a proven track record in delivering designs according to Passivhaus certification requirements. We are well placed to advise clients and are looking to work with local authorities wanting to decarbonise their estate.
Please get in touch to discuss your project requirements.
Van Zyl & de Villiers (VZDV)
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