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  • HPH402: What would make a local developer deliver to Passivhaus standard?

    HPH402: What would make a local developer deliver to Passivhaus standard?

    Developer Giles Lamb and architect Zara Bloomfield explain why they have started delivering certified Passivhaus homes, what extra challenges this presents and how they remain profitable projects.

    Visualisation of Chequers Hill

    Interview with Giles Lamb and Zara Bloomfield

    Giles Lamb is the son of an architect and he grew up in a characterful Victorian coach house, which was always subject to changes. Although he initially worked in technology for investment banks, his passion for building drew him into commercial development around ten years ago, where he initially worked alongside his father. Zara Bloomfield was drawn to architecture because of the blend of creativity, science and problem-solving. After several years in practice, she set up Studio Bloom and learned the realities of running a business alongside design work. The two met when Giles came across one of Zara’s schemes while hunting for a plot; although the timing wasn’t right, he was impressed enough to reach out, and they have collaborated closely ever since. Their relationship is deliberately fluid, built on mutual trust and constant communication rather than rigid contractual arrangements.

    Giles Lamb and Zara Bloomfield share their story of how two previous projects, The Gardener’s House and The Woodland House, served as essential stepping stones toward their first certified Passivhaus development: three new-build homes known as Chequers Hill.

    Woodland House

    Choosing the right site is everything

    One of the clearest messages for anyone entering development is that the site is everything. Giles describes property development as having three parts: finding the site, building, and selling. Finding the site is the most important of the three, requiring constant awareness of what is coming onto the market and how a location might work commercially. Flat land is a priority, since any change in gradient introduces complication and cost. Understanding the local area, the people likely to buy, and their budgets is equally vital, because the most beautiful house in the wrong market will sit unsold.

    Site visits reveal what the paperwork hides

    Photos, surveys and plans only tell part of the story. Zara recounts looking at plots on paper that seemed promising, only to arrive and discover “the topography is completely insane” or some significant feature conveniently absent from the estate agent’s photographs. Walking the land with your architect, in person, is how you make decisions from an informed perspective rather than an optimistic one.

    Land speculators often distort the value of a site

    A newcomer may be surprised by who they are negotiating against. Giles describes a common pattern: a landowner engages an estate agent, who brings in a speculator that secures planning permission for the largest scheme possible, often including basements, purely to inflate the perceived land value. When a genuine developer arrives with a realistic assessment, the landowner’s expectations have already been set unrealistically high. Negotiating back down is a waiting game, and Giles has encountered this on almost every site he has pursued.

    Think about your buyer before you buy the land

    Giles draws on a hard lesson from his previous career setting up a software company: the team built an amazing product but had never worked out who would buy it. He carries this lesson into every property decision. You can build a wonderful house, but if you haven’t considered who will purchase it and how large that market is, you will struggle at the point of sale. This is why the selling phase, though his least favourite because it offers no control, has to inform choices made right at the start.

    Development finance requires a track record

    Financing is where newcomers can hit a wall. Development finance lenders typically want around five years of demonstrable experience before they will lend. Giles bridged this gap early on by funding the first stages of projects himself and taking bridging loans once the building work was sufficiently advanced to reduce the lender’s risk. He also notes that some lenders specialising in sustainable builds are less prescriptive about experience, though initial rates remain high until a relationship is established.

    Forge House – a traditional development carried out by Giles in the early days

    Certification could be a useful tool for lenders

    Being a Passivhaus developer differs considerably from being a conventional developer. Giles argues that independent certification is a commercial carrot: a lender can see that the quality of the build is being checked by an external body. His ambition is for the financing world to recognise certified builds as lower-risk propositions, potentially unlocking better rates. He even suggests agreements could be structured so a developer pays a higher rate if certification is not achieved. In conventional development, nothing equivalent exists to independently verify the quality of what you’re borrowing to build.

    Selling the value of performance is the industry’s shared problem

    When Giles asked estate agents whether he should build to Passivhaus standard, the answer was no. He attributes this to a lack of education rather than a lack of demand. Very few, if any, private developers are building certified homes, so the market has no easy reference point. The Passivhaus community, in his view, needs to market collectively, with estate agents being one important group to target. The benefits are compelling: energy bills dramatically lower than a standard house, better air quality, and homes that hold a steady ambient temperature year-round.

    Giles’ self build was a project that took him a step closer to Passivhaus

    Delivering to Passivhaus standard requires upskilling everyone

    In the lead-up to their first Passivhaus scheme Giles believed it was essential to upskill the whole team, not just the architect. Giles and Zara completed the Passivhaus Designer course, their primary contractor Michael took the Tradesperson course, and their structural engineer trained in the Passivhaus slab design. What this means in practice is that the whole team understands what aspects help deliver the performance that is so often lacking. For example Michael was stunned to learn that, after twenty-five years of practice, rigid insulation was not the best approach for cavity walls. Being shown why and a more effective method creates buy-in and builds confidence that they can do this.

    The proposed Chequers Hill development

    Costs are higher, but they fall with experience

    There’s no hiding the premium. Giles estimates around a 15% uplift on build costs for this first certified project, partly attributable to their own learning time. He expects the next project to come in nearer 10%, and subsequent schemes at 5–7%. The figures are specific to detached houses, which carry fewer economies of scale than terraces, but the trajectory matters: the cost of certified quality is real, it narrows with repetition, and the end value should begin to reflect it as the market matures.

    Delays often come from legalities, not construction

    The greatest ongoing frustrations for the pair have been administrative. Getting planning permission for even a variation on an existing consent has consumed time, effort and money. Acquiring the site took seven months with no banks involved at all, purely due to legal issues. While government reform of planning is welcome, Giles believes the legal system is even harder to navigate, a warning for any newcomer budgeting time for their first scheme.

    Starting small is advice worth taking

    Asked what he would say to someone looking to embark on a development for the first time, Giles recommends starting small and focusing tightly on an area you know well. Every site he considered before choosing Chequers Hill was larger, and he’s thankful he went for the smaller one: even at three homes, the workload and financial demands are substantial. His project management background in technology, appetite for calculated risk and a trusted team around him are what carry the build day to day.

    A key part of scaling up is access to more finance

    The ambition for both Giles and Zara is to secure sites without pre-existing planning consents, which are often restrictive, and to grow the model into something genuinely scalable. Zara is also keen that the next projects are more architecturally aspirational, pushing the limits of what is possible within a compact, affordable footprint. For his part, Giles is aiming for continuity of the pipeline and sees access to greater finance as helping here. Overall they hope other developers will follow their lead and deliver more high performance, sustainable homes, which would in turn help bring costs down for everyone.

    Suggested further reading & resources

    • Giles’ friend Danny Luhde-Thompson has been on the podcast before.
    • Studio Bloom: Website of Zara Bloomfield’s architectural practice for portfolio examples.
    • WARM: certifiers on the Chequers Hill project.

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  • HPH347: Common pitfalls to avoid when building a house – with Amelia Lee

    HPH347: Common pitfalls to avoid when building a house – with Amelia Lee

    Amelia Lee from Undercover Architect shares some common themes that tend to crop up on owner-builder projects (particularly with people who are doing this for the first time) and explains how they can be avoided by creating a clear foundation of your values and project intentions.

    Interview with Amelia Lee

    This is the second of Ben Adam-Smith’s interviews from his time in Australia and in this episode we have a chat Amelia Lee from Undercover Architect. Amelia has been an architect for 30 years and in that time worked on wide range of different projects, as well as three of her own renovations. 10 years ago she decided that she wanted to expand her reach to help more people and left her practice to start Undercover Architect as a platform to provide educational resources that help inform and empower new owner-builders (‘self-builders’ in the UK). In that time she has built a community of confident owner-builders that are well resourced to advocate for sustainable building practices and create homes that help them live well.

    In this chat, Amelia and Ben compare their experiences of working with people who want to build new or renovate existing dwellings, and identify the most common challenges that occur.

    Don’t rush the planing stages!

    Many people focus on the build stage of a project, but there are 3 crucial stages before you get there which will determine the success of your build.

    There a 4 phases to any project:

    1. Pre-design
    2. Design
    3. Pre-build
    4. Build

    Amelia emphasises that the more work you can do in those first three phases to anticipate and manage the potential risks, the more likely your build will go according to plan. Any changes or delays that happen during the build stage will be very costly so having a good plan in place will help your team work as efficiently as possible.

    Pre-design

    The pre-design stage forms the background research for your project. You will need to work out your local planning regulations, the limitations of your site and any council requirements that will need to be considered.

    Lots of people turn to neighbours or friends for advice on these things and then call it a day, but it is very important that you work out the bigger picture of your construction climate. Amelia explains that some councils in Australia allow owner-builders to fast track their projects through planning if their design meets certain requirements, so knowing these things will help you mould your building design to receive local support and avoid potential obstacles.

    “It’s like playing any game, when you find out the rules first, you can create the greatest strategy in order to be able to be most expeditious and efficient in how you do things.”

    Get to know your budget

    This stage is also where you figure out your budget. The budget must be revisited at every stage, but it is most important to start with a good understanding of what you have available so that anything you take on from this point will be working in accordance with this.

    Establish your values

    You also need to work out what you want to achieve and establish your values that will create the foundations of your design. What are your big picture goals? How do you want your house to work for you?

    “You will need to make something like 15,000 decisions. This gives you some way to anchor yourself to and check against to guide the decision making overall so you don’t get lost in the process.”

    Design

    The design phase is about figuring out how these spaces, places and rooms are going to work best for you. How do you need the house to function best for you?

    Your current home can tell you a lot about your future one

    You can begin to work this out by analysing your current home, looking at which bits work well for you – maybe you like how your kitchen is close to the front door so you can unpack your shopping easily or that your living room faces south so is always full of light. But also working out which parts don’t work for you, like the separate dingy dining room that becomes a dumping ground. Knowing how you want to use a space will help you create a design that works best for you.

    The orientation of your site is important to know

    Amelia explains that understanding the orientation of your site and working out how your house could sit best within it will allow you to optimise the liveability. By considering the positioning, the climate, neighbouring properties, surroundings and even a nice view or feature that you would like to showcase, you begin to create signposts for your design. Knowing these factors can also help to increase energy efficiency by utilising solar gains for heating or natural shading features that can help with cooling.

    Explore the different construction methods available

    In this phase it is also really important to explore all the construction and design options out there so you can pick the one that best meets the requirements you outlined in the pre-design stage. It can be easy to fall into the trap of following the standard or most common construction path, but this might not be the best path for you and your build.

    Always keep one eye on your budget to make sure you are still on track!

    The design stage will start giving you an idea of the cost of your project, make sure you are sticking to your budget and checking that you can afford what you are planning.

    “Your budget is going to dictate the size of your house right from the outset and the level of finish that you can expect. If it’s not going to be enough, then you need to figure out if you need to find more money? Or do you have to radically reduce the size of our property before we begin?”

    Pre-build

    The Pre-build phase is all about formulating your practical construction plan and assembling your team. This will include looking at your building approvals, finalising your building materials and construction methods and collating all of your documentation. In this section, you will need to keep referring to the values you established right at the beginning and make sure you are making decisions that are in alignment with those.

    Create a clear plan for your build

    This stage should focus on formulating a comprehensive build plan with detailed drawings and specifications that will hopefully reduce the need for you to make quick and maybe uniformed decisions under pressure.

    “Drawings, specifications, those kinds of things are the language with which the construction industry understands how things get done, and so the more you can put into that information is super important.”

    Test your energy efficiency now

    Make sure you spend some time testing the energy efficiency of your design, pre-build. PHPP will be very useful at this stage to test the functionality and provide a picture of the energy movement in your design before you have it set in stone… or timber.

    Assemble your dream team

    Choosing your team is very important – trust your gut and pick people who align with your values or have experience in what you are aiming to achieve. Remember, these people will be in your life for anywhere from a few months to a few years!

    Build

    This stage will involve spending the most money and watching the physical progress of your build but if you have completed the first three stages well, this should go pretty smoothly. Of course, there will always be a few hiccups along the way which you can’t predict, but the structure and values that you have created should help you navigate these with ease.

    Key things to remember here are to be as present as possible and make sure that you are referring back to your values when obstacles arise.

    Work out an accurate budget and stick to it

    A clear and realistic budget is very important in a build project. Amelia explains that in her 30 year career most of her clients have a budget that is 50 – 75% of where it needs to be to match their initial aspirations for their home. This figure has tracked consistently regardless of price rises in construction due to inflation, covid, etc. Being realistic about what you can get for your money and making sure you are including all costs (such as planning application fees, landscaping costs, internal finishes, etc) in your budget is crucial.

    Your team can help you predict your costs

    It can be a good idea to work with someone who has experience in the specifics of your build, so you know that they have some knowledge of how much it is likely to cost. It can be useful to include your builder in the design process as a consultant, in order to get a realistic idea of the cost whilst you still have time to amend designs.

    If you are working with someone who isn’t experienced with Passivhaus or sustainable building, Amelia recommends building in a 20-30% contingency into the budget as the cost of certain processes will probably be more than they have accounted for.

    “Your builder can actually be providing input on cost and buildability from the outset, and that includes at that very first meeting, when you say my budget is x, and I want to do y. The builder and the architect can sit there and say, well, from our previous projects, we know that the y that you’re asking for, it traditionally will cost this amount per square metre based on these kinds of finishes. Or if you want to do these kinds of finishes, it’ll cost this amount.”

    Don’t feel the need to max out your budget

    Owner-builders often push their budgets to the absolute max and this trend seems to be regardless of starting budget. Like many things in life, the bigger the budget, the more we try and do, which is consistently meaning people take it right up to the limit. In the planning stages, work out a realistic budget if you can and if you don’t have enough, work out if you can downsize the footprint or some way to reduce the cost.

    Amelia does point out that there are occasions where adding an extra bedroom to increase the property value, will also increase the build costs but may allow you to secure a higher loan to build with. Because of the way the housing market and financial services work, there might be creative solutions to be found but definitely try and work out what’s best for you.

    “My experience with homeowners doing their own homes, is that they will spend the most amount of money that they can without financially crippling themselves.”

    Your project starts with you

    Many people think that their project will begin when they have hired an architect or designer and therefore might put off doing so until they are ‘ready’. Amelia highlights that there are several steps you can take prior to this which include exploring how you want your house to function and establishing the values of your project. This may need to happen before you hire anyone as these will dictate who you are looking for, in regards to their experience, ethos and general practice.

    Amelia notes that it is crucial to be asking the right questions when meeting potential architects and designers. Rather than attempting to gain as much free information about your project as possible, try to get to know as much as you can about them and their practices.

    “Who is this person? What are they like? How do they run their business? How professional are they? What do they communicate like? Are you going to be able to handle having this person in your life for the next 12 months to two years? Are you aligned in the goals you operate your life with? And how are they going to best support you in navigating something you’ve never done before?”

    Don’t fall into the trap of the status quo

    It can often feel like the standard formula for house building is to prioritise size over quality. Amelia explains that when her clients spend time thinking frankly about who they are and how they want to live in their future home, they end up realising that they need less space than they initially thought. As a result they get their rooms and budgets working far harder for them and it sets them up to find the right people to support them in that journey as well.

    “One of my big, hairy, audacious goals is for everybody to build a site specific response. It’s how you create climate resilience, climate sensitivity, you improve the energy efficiency of your home, you lower its energy, heating and cooling costs, and most of all, you actually make it a better home to live in for yourself personally. The thing is that most of our housing stock doesn’t do this, so most people are living without that experience on a day to day basis. They just don’t understand from a firsthand point of view, the incredible difference it makes the everyday life to live in a house that works for your site.”

    Creating a design that maximises these things will help you follow the principles of Sarah Susanka and utilise every space in your house, everyday.

    Sustainability must be a foundational theme for it to be effective

    Sticking to your sustainable goals in an industry that has not embraced them yet can be quite challenging. It is all too common for it to fall by the wayside when clients hit a professional in the industry who says sustainability will just cost you more. It’s not the job of your professional to tell you it’s too expensive. It’s up to them to tell you what your choices will mean and cost, and you to decide what your priorities and values are. By assembling the right team and putting in the work in the early stages, you will be much more likely to succeed with your sustainability goals.

    Sustainability Bolt-ons

    Too often in house building we see sustainability advertised as a bolt on service. Amelia views this approach as a form of greenwashing in the industry, as it creates a false economy by giving people a free pass to design oversized and inefficient houses that are perceived as sustainable because they have solar panels on the roof.

    “We’re all living on a planet and we know our choices, impact everyone in everything that we do. Building a house is no different and you’re embedding those choices for a very long time.”

    It is important to view sustainability as a foundational concept in your design, so that the entire structure can be created with this in mind. It is crucial to not get distracted from this goal because the end product will not only improve the sustainability of your home, but also improve the way you get to live in it.

    “I feel that sustainability actually starts and is most heavily impacted in the decisions that you make before you begin, about the size of the project that you’re going to build and in how you’re going to make it suit its climate. If you can get those two things right, you will be 80% of the way there before you even start worrying about solar power”

    Don’t outsource your agency

    Amelia’s closing reflections highlight the importance of being an informed and confident owner-builder:

    “I really encourage people to not to not outsource their agency. At the end of the day, it’s your home, and so no one’s going to care as much about it as you do. I want you to know that you unlock what is possible for your future home because it’s your decisions, your money, your vision, that’s the reason this whole project is happening. So it’s really important that you get yourself educated and informed before you begin.”

    The journey can be a great opportunity for personal growth:

    “I love with empowering homeowners, particularly women who are stepping into a male dominated industry. In the renovation and construction industry, women are making 80% of the purchasing decisions and yet they’re dealing with mostly men as they do this. I see them get to the end of their project, and they turn around and look at what they’ve been able to accomplish for their family and consider what else they are capable of? I just get really excited about what it unlocks for people in terms of readjusting their expectations of themselves as well.”

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  • HPH342: How to incorporate reused materials on a self build – with Kirsty Maguire

    HPH342: How to incorporate reused materials on a self build – with Kirsty Maguire

    Architect Kirsty Maguire explains why reusing an existing building is always preferable to demolishing and rebuilding. However, when buildings are in terrible condition or need radical alterations to make them habitable we should be looking to reuse, recycle and reclaim as many materials as possible. Kirsty shows us that with intentional and sustainable design, you can create a new structure with a wealth of history.

    Interview with Kirsty Maguire

    Kirsty Maguire is an architect and Passivhaus designer who specialises in reclamation practices and sustainable building. Along with her team, Kirsty has been involved a wide range of projects that focus on finding ways to recycle the wealth of resources in existing buildings and reclamation centres, instead of buying new. In this chat, Kirsty explains the steps that are taken throughout a reclamation centred project and describes how preloved items can bring beauty and creativity to your home.

    Reusing and reclaiming materials is an essential part of sustainability and the future of construction

    A lot of the narratives around Passivhaus certification and sustainable construction have a focus on new builds. Whilst these projects are great, we can’t solely focus on sustainable new builds for the future of housing. Kirsty highlights that we currently have a wealth resources in already existing structures. We don’t have the ability to start from scratch on everything, so reclaiming, renovating, and reusing will be fundamental for a strong circular economy and in creating a sustainable future of housing.

    “We’ve done everything from little cottage upgrades to working with the UNDP in Armenia doing big, tower block retrofits. And that’s really, you know, that’s what’s going to change the world in a short time.”

    What is the circular economy?

    “Circular economy is looking at materials not only in the use that they are now but also beyond that use and into their next life.”

    The Seed

    The Seed is a new building constructed just outside of Dundee on a woodland plot. It is a home for two families and acts as a small-scale cohousing project, with shared access to living areas. When the project was originally brought to Kirsty and her team, it was intended to be an EnerPHit project on an existing structure, but after reviewing the building health, the team realised that the structure was in a very poor condition with a lot of damp.

    “We drew the things that we’re going to have to be taken out in red and the drawings were almost entirely red! There was very little left.”

    As a result, the goal shifted from reuse to recycle and the team formulated a plan to demolish the existing structure and reuse as much of the material as possible in the new building. Bricks were used in a range of different ways, creating gabions that formed the foundation of the structure, as aggregate on the site and also in the garden to provide structure for the biodiversity growing that the client is developing.

    The client was passionate about sustainability and biodiversity being at the heart of the project, which can be seen in the construction methods, choices of materials and the overall design of the house.

    Reusing materials might mean changing their use

    Not all reclaimed materials will be able to be used in the exact same way as they were before, so there is an aspect of creativity needed for designers to work out how to use them in new projects.

    You don’t need to demolish an existing structure to be able to reclaim materials

    There are some great resources out there for sourcing reclaimed materials, whether that be from architectural salvage yards, stone yards, and even online sites such as eBay, Gumtree and Freecycle. A great example, local to Kirsty, is Dundee Scrap Antics, which is a creative recycling and social justice enterprise, that aims to give preloved items another life.

    “They might have something that’s been sitting in the back there for years and years or even decades, which is exactly what you need for your project. So there are a lot of places you can go.”

    Finishes are the easiest way to reuse in a Passivhaus

    Structural components can be a bit harder because there won’t be any manufactures data to prove the efficiency of the product, in particular insulation. But this matters most in Passivhaus structures as you need this data to get the certification. Therefore, using reclaimed materials for your internal finishes can be a great way to improve the sustainability and character of your home.

    Our current building industry doesn’t consider the richness of reclaiming materials

    The current system is designed to make you go straight to the merchant and buy any materials new, it is considered efficient in both time and cost. But it doesn’t take into consideration the benefits of using reclaimed materials on the environment and the unique quality of the finished product.

    “It doesn’t take into account the rich wealth of recycled materials that exists out there.”

    Demolition companies are incentivised to separate waste and avoid putting everything into landfill

    With the presence of substances like asbestos, demolition has moved past the time of a wrecking ball and a skip. Now, it is a much more measured process, but there are still important considerations to be made and does depend on where the reclaimed material is used afterwards. Often, demolition companies have the materials taken away to be used in other projects, but Kirsty highlights that whilst this is much better than them ending up in landfill, the most sustainable use is in reclaiming materials and reusing them on the same site. In the case of The Seed, the asbestos was professionally removed, and the majority of the timber and plaster was taken to be used on other sites, but pretty much all the rest was reused on site, whether that was in the building itself, landscaping or in garden structures.

    Surroundings can be a big influence on the design

    In the design of The Seed, the woodland area in which the site is situated, influenced a large amount of the design as well as the environmental performance. Internal layout can be designed to maximise the connection to the outdoor space and the use of two different colour clay plasters inside differentiates between the two families’ zones in a cohousing living space. As a result, you create a warm atmosphere both thermally and emotionally, that sits within the land not on it.

    “As the client described it, almost womb like. Very enveloping and warm and cosy. Not only from a thermal performance point of view, but from a sort of emotional point of view.”

    You must not only consider how the building will be constructed, but also it’s deconstruction in many years to come

    The construction of The Seed focused on installing root protection and avoiding the use of concrete and cement when laying the groundwork. They decided to use steel screw piles for the foundation as they could position them in relation to the tree roots and can be removed with little impact at a later date. Kirsty also pointed out that even if the steel piles can’t be reused in a future project, they can be recycled.

    “This comes back down to the thinking about the whole building life. So you in the same way that we were looking at the previous building that was on the site, that was at it’s end of life, and identifying the type of materials that we can reuse within that, despite the fact that when it was built that wasn’t what was being considered. What we’re looking at with a new building is how that building could be taken apart at the end of its life… steel screw piles can be taken out with relatively small impact on the ground, and considering other materials as we go through as to what can be reused and recycled when it does come to that point”

    … and it’s embodied carbon impact

    Kirsty was yet to receive the data for the embodied carbon of steel screw piles, but did highlight that it is often the renewable energy devices that hold the highest embodied carbon of a project. You can influence this, depending on where you source you Solar PV, for example, can have a big impact on the level of embodied carbon. It is therefore much easier to control the embodied carbon of your above ground materials and it is often about looking at how to balance it all.

    Remember to consider your waste management

    Kirsty explains that in the construction of The Seed, they highlighted that root protection was an area of potential waste as it requires a large quantity of gravel. To get around this, they were able to use reclaimed materials from the demolition and any left-over material was used in another of their building sites.

    Root protection has many benefits

    Root protection is often a planning requirement for sites that have trees surrounding the foundation. The Seed was being constructed on a woodland site with many mature trees and root protection was required. The team found that not only did this process protect the trees, but it also protected the soil during construction and helped to avoid the perils of a muddy, winter, construction site!

    “the contractor commented that they really loved having the reputation down because it meant that the site was very clean… you’re not wading around in the wintertime, with mud up to your ankles, tracking it through the whole building site.”

    Aim to continue the ethos through every stage of your build

    It’s not only the shell that must be considered when creating a sustainable home. When you carry a mindset through every step of the process, right down to the internal finishes and furnishings, you achieve a cohesive design with much more intention. Kirsty talks about how Caroline (the client for The Seed) achieved the majority of her internal finishes with furniture she already owned, or second hand finds, rather than buying new and contributing to landfill waste. Each feature tells a story, in particular, the wooden platform made from materials reclaimed from the sailing club in Broughty Ferry that her site manager was involved in constructing all those years ago. This continuation of her overall ethos has created not only a beautiful design but a sense of history within a new structure.

    “It’s really interesting. So unexpectedly, these little stories start to come up and get created about the building too”

    Remember to consider the biodiversity and ecology of your site

    Kirsty also highlights that biodiversity and ecology are at the centre of their practice when renovating, demolishing, and reconstructing buildings. The presence of bats is a common occurrence in reclamation projects as these structures have been standing for a long time and it’s not only the previous owners that will have called them home. It is therefore important that the proper surveys are done, and any findings must be checked by a local ecologist.

    “What’s existing there already? It’s not just the humans… who call the houses their home.”

    Collaboration and a good team is key

    Having a team that all share the same goal for a project is vital and if overlooked you may end up with a different end product than what you had envisioned. Storage in key when reclaiming materials as they will often be sat around for a while before they can be reused and in that time, they need to be stored within the right conditions. This requires an additional level of planning and coordination, so a good team that all understand the ethos of the build is crucial. Without this, things may become very difficult.

    “It might be that the architect and the client find some amazing things together in terms of materials to reuse. But if you’ve working with the wrong contractor, then they’re not going to be picking that up or vice versa… But when you get a great contractor to work with, or anybody else from the design team or the or the build team, then everyone putting their heads together to find solutions really can make the reused materials sing.”

    Don’t be overwhelmed by the prospect of reusing and recycling in your build

    Once you get into the process it can be really fun and exciting! Reclaiming and sourcing second hand materials can be a creative exercise in problem solving. You will likely end up with a range of unique and high-quality features in your home that will each tell their own story.

    The industry has come a long way in the past 10 years

    10 years ago, it would have been very difficult to find data on embodied carbon and embodied energy but today there is rich data base to help guide you. PHHP is a relatively quick modelling tool which also has a feature to check the embodied carbon and embodied energy of materials, allowing you to begin the process at a relatively low cost.

    “if you’re using PHPP… then you can choose whether you think that extra 50 millimetres of insulation is worth the cost or not and… that puts the control for specification and budget firmly in the design team and clients pocket, which is fantastic.”

    Copyright – Grant Anderson / www.grantanderson.me / @grantandersondotme

    Your project shouldn’t feel like a juggling act of different goals

    Building projects should aim to have your goals working together cohesively rather than battling one another. This brings us back to our topic from last week; embodied carbon vs energy efficiency. Kirsty explains that we shouldn’t view them as competing goals, but instead as different factors that need to work together. You don’t need to forgo one to have the other, but you may need to spend a little longer working out how you can get them to work together harmoniously.

    “thinking about the impact of the construction, in the same way that we’ve been able to look at the performance is a really powerful tool… For a long time, we were focusing on performance, and the decisions that you might make instinctively are often right, but they’re not always. And it’s exactly the same with embodied carbon and embodied energy.”

    Find out more

    Visit the website of Kirsty Maguire Architects

    Join The Hub to access our in-depth video case study of Buckinghamshire Passivhaus, a PH15 build

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  • HPH329 : What does a structural engineer do? – with Beth Williams

    HPH329 : What does a structural engineer do? – with Beth Williams

    Beth Williams from Build Collective outlines the role of a structural engineer and explains what tasks might be undertaken on a house build.

    Interview with Beth Williams

    Beth had wanted to be an architect since she was a teenager, and graduated from university with a degree in architecture and structural engineering. However, at the time she graduated, the UK was in the grip of a recession and the only job opportunities she found were in structural engineering. Part of the reason she has since gone on to work in the low-energy space, is that she enjoys the close working relationship with the design team.

    Beth is a Chartered Civil Engineer and Certified Passivhaus Designer. She is an associate at Build Collective; a bespoke engineering consultancy in Bristol.

    Structural engineering is a sub-discipline of civil engineering

    Civil engineering sits at the top of the hierarchy. It covers things like highways and drainage.

    Structural engineering is a specialism within that, but can still be quite broad. Structures can mean a focus on things like bridges and masts, or it can be for buildings.

    So if you’re looking for a structural engineer for your project, you can either opt for a chartered civil engineer (with a specialism in structures), or a chartered structural engineer. Beth explains that there isn’t really any difference in terms of insurances and liabilities. The qualifications to look for are: the MICE (Chartered Member of the Institute of Civil Engineers), and the MIStructE (Chartered Member of the Institute of Structural Engineers).

    They work as designers, under the principal designer

    If there is no architect on the project, such as for a small domestic knock-through, then the structural engineer may take on the required role of principal designer looking after health and safety.

    For most other projects though, the architect is the principal designer. They coordinate the flows of information between the design team members, and produce a pre-construction pack. That is all of the information from all of the designers, and all the health and safety risks. This is then passed on to the principal contractor to take as their responsibility once the construction phase gets underway.

    Small projects might not need a structural engineer

    If you are redecorating or moving an internal wall that isn’t structural then you probably don’t need a structural engineer.

    Part A of the Building Regulations gives a generic outline of the structural principles, which could be used by an architect to design a very limited building such as a garage or an extremely basic house.

    It used to be the case that people doing architectural work would have cover in their professional indemnity insurance for designing small structures. However, since Grenfell and a number of basement collapses in London, a lot of them have lost those insurances so the work has come back to the structural engineers.

    Domestic clients will usually pay a fixed fee

    Larger projects tend to be costed up on a percentage basis, whereas domestic clients are likely to pay a fixed fee for the defined scope of works. Beth’s advice is to always check what is on the scope of works, and the number of passes included.

    A lot of engineers base their fee on responding to a set of drawings once. Build Collective however, do a two-stage pass. This involves some rough sizing and layouts as a preliminary design. The architect uses that to develop their details before returning to the structural engineer for their detailed design. Having that extra pass allows for tweaks to be made based on new knowledge that might be acquired during the process, such as ground conditions for foundations.

    Many factors impact on the structural system

    Corner windows, fancy overhanging roofs, and flat roofs are just a few elements that will impact the structural system. This all feeds into the “Have I got enough wall?” question, which is for the structural engineer to answer. Things like large glazing and an open plan design will all obviously limit the amount of wall that they have. So it’s about how much wall there is to make the structure stand up, and evenly distributing it throughout the building. Large stair openings and double-height voids mean there is less floor area to be able to distribute the loads.

    Where there aren’t walls, it might mean putting in portal frames or goalpost frames to give stability.

    It’s not just the vertical loads that need to be considered either. They also need to factor in whether the walls can withstand the horizontal load when wind is blowing on them.

    Local structural engineers may have better knowledge of ground conditions

    One advantage of hiring a local structural engineer is that they will be familiar with the area and its challenges.

    For example Beth says that there are many cheap building plots in Bath because the ground conditions are often horrendous. It has a lot of historic landslip material that is volatile to work on. And Bristol has lots of coal mining areas and slope stability issues that will prove challenging.

    Beth suggests a good use of money would be to pay a structural engineer for a few hours to look at geographical maps for your site and provide advice.

    She would also recommend having a proper geotechnical survey for a new build, which costs around £3,500-£5,000. This involves a specialist geotechnical engineer doing bore holes or trial pits. They will log the findings and send samples away for lab testing, and report on the different structural and chemical properties of the ground.

    If you can get a good ground investigation early on, you mitigate a lot of potential risks that could occur later on.

    Your foundations will depend on your ground conditions

    There is a range of sizes of ground particles, from large rocks down to gravels, sands, and clays.

    • Rock – For rock at depth, you might be able to pile down onto it, and lock onto the top surfaces
    • Gravel – Can be very flexible and have good bearing capacity
    • Sand – These can be good because they don’t have the same volume change potential you get in clays
    • Clay – Clay heave can be an issue. The clay will swell and shrink over the seasons as it takes on more or less water. To get around that, you dig deeper to where the clay isn’t affected by the heave. That may then be too deep to dig safely, so would need piling

    Concrete may be something that you’re keen to avoid but it does have its place.

    Beth uses a lot of insulated raft slabs on low energy projects. It’s a good solution for timber frame projects because you need some weight in the building to hold it down. If you are going to use concrete the important thing is to use it efficiently.

    Another foundation option could be screw piles. They have some tension capacity in order to do the uplift for a timber frame. However, they’re not going to be possible in every scenario, and Beth warns against clients fixating on them before knowing whether their ground conditions will be suitable.

    (AECB members can access a webinar recording of Beth discussing alternatives to concrete foundations.)

    The design starts with the roof

    Beth uses a top-down approach, starting with the roof design. This is followed by any suspended floors, then the walls and lintels in the walls.

    Even before she does these vertical load takedowns, she will look at overall stability. This incorporates the wind and snow loads.

    A surprising level of information is needed to do the structural design

    There are lots of things that feed into the structural design that may not be immediately obvious.

    Staircases are a good example. Where there’s a stair opening going up through the floors there needs to be a stair trimmer. There may also be a balustrade to prevent falls. What that balustrade is made out of will impact the structure. Glass obviously has more significant limitations on the deflection it can take before it cracks, than a lot of other materials. It has different fixing requirements too. Another consideration is how the balustrades for the stair itself join onto the rest of the balustrade.

    When clients arrive with a specific product that they want to use, Beth sources all the data from the supplier in order to do the design. She has developed her foreign language skills because often the technical information isn’t supplied in English!

    Don’t be afraid to involve an engineer early on!

    This is especially the case if there is a specific product or system that you want to use. Get advice early to see how that might impact what the structure looks like, where the windows might go, and how many walls you might need inside. Beth would then do preliminary rough structural layout markups, ahead of planning, to show where the beams and frames could go. The architect can feed this back into their designs.

    Find out more

    Visit the website of Build Collective

    Follow Beth Williams on Twitter

    Transcript

    Download a transcript of the interview with Beth Williams

    Calling future engineers

    Water expert Cath Hassell has featured on the podcast several times before (discussing topics such as saving water, rainwater harvesting and dealing with sewage). However she is also the creator of the Frankie the Flamingo series of books for children. So if you have a budding engineer on your hands perhaps The Mysterious Case of the Elephant that Forgot is a good place to start.

    Please connect with us

    Subscribe, rate and review us on Apple Podcasts

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  • HPH279 : A beginner’s guide to building terminology – with Lee Fordham from Architype

    HPH279 : A beginner’s guide to building terminology – with Lee Fordham from Architype

    Lee Fordham from Architype simplifies some of the terminology you might come across if you’re thinking about doing a sustainable self build.

    Interview with Lee Fordham

    Shortly after qualifying as an architect in 2004, Lee spent time travelling and working for architecture practices in New Zealand and Australia. When he returned to the UK he decided to pursue his passion for sustainable design and started working at Architype, one of the UK’s leading sustainable architects, where he is now an Associate Director.

    A beginner’s guide to terminology

    For those that are just setting out in their self build journey there can be an overwhelming array of technical terminology used that can be baffling to anyone outside of the industry. Lee takes us through some of the common terms that you might come across in a sustainable self build.

    Passivhaus / Passive House

    Passivhaus (Passive House in the United States) is a building standard that was developed in Germany around 30 years ago. Using physics, the aim is to reduce the performance gap between how the building is designed to perform, and how it actually performs.

    The aim is to make the building more comfortable for the occupants and reduce how much energy the building uses, which is done with a better quality of build.

    Liz and Mike Hill’s Passivhaus – designed by Architype

    The experts will use the Passivhaus Planning Package (which you’ll hear referred to as PHPP), which essentially is a very complicated spreadsheet of data that allows them to design a building that will meet the Passivhaus criteria. The contractor will use that information to construct the building, and a certifier will guarantee the work and certify it if it meets the required standard.

    Passivhaus plaque

    MVHR

    You’ll commonly hear a Mechanical Ventilation Heat Recovery system referred to as an MVHR. They’re most likely to be used in Passivhaus buildings, but not exclusively. It is a ventilation system which extracts the used air from inside a building. It takes the heat from that air and mixes it with fresh air which is being brought into the building from outside, to provide every room with fresh, pre-warmed air.

    The air is filtered coming into the building, and different filters can be used according to whatever is in the external air in that area.

    A key benefit over natural ventilation is the element of control over any given space, ie removing moisture from bathrooms etc.

    An MVHR for a domestic dwelling is roughly the size of a combi-boiler and will need to be incorporated into the building’s design.

    MVHR unit at Landsdowne Drive Passivhaus – Green Building Store

    Foundations / Footings

    These will usually be designed by a structural engineer and are what sit under the building to evenly transfer the weight of the building to the earth. The type you use might be dependent on what your ground conditions are like, but some examples are pile foundations, deep strip foundations and raft foundations.

    U-value

    A complicated one to explain, but essentially it’s a way of measuring how thermally conductive a component or a series of components (like a piece of glass, wall or roof) is. It is the rate at which heat travels through. The lower the U-value, the better it is.

    The aim is to have fairly consistent U-values across all the components in a building. Having just one element that isn’t consistent could act as a magnet for moisture and potentially damage the structure. This can partly be achieved by better insulation, triple-glazed windows etc.

    The U-values form part of the data that feeds into the PHPP system.

    Airtightness

    At a very basic level, this is about eliminating drafts in a building. It’s relatively easy to achieve but needs to be thought about at the design stage. At Architype they denote the airtightness layer on their detailed drawings using a red line, which shows the contractors where to take particular care in the construction so as not to damage it.

    To meet building regulations, when the building is finished an air test will be carried out. The building has a giant fan attached to it and is either positively pressured, ie blowing air in, or negatively pressured, ie extracting air. The rate at which the air leaks gives you your air test result. It is a measure in pascals of the pressure of an internal area. Building regs require you to get a result of 10 or less.

    The method in a Passivhaus building is slightly different. This takes an average reading from the building being both positively and negatively pressured, to give an n50 value which is how many volumes of air changes there are in an hour. The Passivhaus requirement is that it should be less than 0.6, so significantly better than building regulations.

    Build system / construction method

    This is a way of describing what method you are going to use to construct your building. Examples include timber frame, masonry, brick and block, insulated concrete formwork (ICF), pre-cast concrete, in-situ concrete, and cross-laminated timber.

    Pre-fabrication

    Pre-fabrication is where components, or indeed whole buildings, are made off-site. This could be from wall panels, to timber frames, to bathrooms that are fully plumbed and tiled, to entire houses.

    MAKAR production facility

    You can even go to the factories and choose your handles, paint finishes, floor finishes etc. When they reach the site they are connected together. The advantages of building the elements off-site is it can be quicker, they’re not subject to delays or damage from the weather, and often it can result in better quality and working better when brought to site.

    Huf Haus

    Zero carbon

    Lee says that this is a difficult one to explain as there are many different interpretations of what it means.

    Generally it refers to off-setting the energy use in a building. So the better your building is, ie a Passivhaus, the less carbon you have to off-set because you’re not using as much energy.

    Looking deeper into it, some people will be referring to zero carbon in use, which is the energy that is used starting from the point of when it’s been built, through to its end of life.

    But there’s also embodied or sequestered carbon, which takes into account everything to do with the design and construction of the building, together with the in-use energy and sometimes through to the demolition. This is more complicated to account for, although there are tools which can help explain for instance, how much energy is used in getting a tree from Germany to the UK to use in a timber frame.

    Custom build

    Whereas self build has many decisions for you to make, whether or not you’re doing it in the purest sense of building it yourself, or whether you’re commissioning someone to carry that out for you, custom build can take some of those decisions away from you. There will be an offering from the custom build company, but with options for you to customise it. That could be in terms of the style of the house, the layout or the finishes. It might not be as individual as you would get with a self build, but it can take away a lot of the headaches!

    Potton Homes design

    Solar shading / brise soleil

    Effectively the same thing, brise soleil or solar shading would be used on the south facing side of a building to limit the sun coming in during the summer months when you don’t want the building to overheat, but allowing it to come in during the winter when the heat is required. Generally it would be a horizontal component that sits over the south facing glazing, whether that be a roof overhang, external canopy or series of louvres.

    External louvres – Charlie Luxton Design
    Wimbish Passivhaus Scheme – Parsons & Whittley
    Ditchingham Passivhaus Scheme – Parsons & Whittley

    On an east or west elevation you would usually have a vertical component, and that’s just to do with the angle of the sun at certain times of day and certain times of year. Windows on the east and west elevation can be harder for dealing with glare and overheating issues.

    Lee says the ideal situation is to have the building facing south where the solar gains can be controlled more easily.

    Design team

    The core members of a design team are likely to include: an architect, structural engineer, civil engineer, mechanical and electrical (M&E) engineer, and possibly a project manager.

    Beyond that, depending on your site and your level of involvement and interests, you might also have: landscape architect, ecologist, arboriculturist, quantity surveyor, Passivhaus designer etc.

    Renewables

    Renewables refers to technology that generates energy. This could be photovoltaics, wind turbines, hydro power etc.

    Air source and ground source heat pumps

    An air source heat pump takes energy from the temperature in the air. Any air above zero degrees has energy in it and this can be taken and transferred into heat or hot water for your house. Similar in size to a washing machine, they’re put on the outside of a building.

    The ground source heat pump works in much the same way but will take the energy from the ground. They have pipes which can either be spread horizontally in the ground which will require a lot of space, or as a vertical spread of pipes, which need less space but are a lot more expensive.

    Plans, elevations, sections and details

    These are examples of the different types of design drawings, created by Parsons and Whittley for Ben Adam-Smith’s house:

    Plan – This is an aerial view, looking down onto the building. You can have different plans to show each floor of the building, but they can show the roof, doors, walls and windows, together with the internal layout.

    Elevation – An elevation is a drawing of what the outsides of the building look like from where you’re standing. A south elevation for example would be the side of the building that is facing towards the south.

    Section – This is like slicing down through a building to show what’s inside. It will show the components of the walls, floors, roof etc.

    Details – By taking a section drawing and zooming in you will create a detail. They can be various scales, such as 1:2 or 1:10, and are an in-depth analysis and instruction for the contractor showing how to construct that part of the building. It would show them where the airtightness line is, where the insulation is, and how wide cavities would need to be.

    Soft landings and performance monitoring

    A soft landing is about making sure that once the building has been constructed, that the operator of that building knows how to use it. Obviously if you’ve built it yourself then this wouldn’t be necessary, but if you’ve largely commissioned other people to complete the project then you should have someone tell you how it all works.

    Performance monitoring can take place throughout the build process but in particular Lee refers to monitoring once the building is complete. This uses sensors to check on things like the internal temperature, humidity and CO2 levels, to make sure the building is performing as it was designed to do.

    Tender

    The way you tender will depend on what kind of contract you will have, but essentially a tender is a set of information that is put out to someone for a response. They will price up the aspects on the tender and return it with their figure and requested documentation. It can be a tender for a design team or for a contractor. The returned tender documents are then scored and weighted according to whatever your priorities might be. For some that might be 80% of the marks will be based on how competitive the price is, but for others they might weight it more heavily in favour of quality and not necessarily who is the cheapest.

    A key thing is to make sure the information and drawings you are sending out are as comprehensive as possible. That way it can be priced accurately for what you will be needing. Without that detail they will be adding an element of price risk to their response which will invariably make it much more expensive.

    Window parts

    • Sill – The ledge at the bottom of the frame.
    • Head – The top of a window where it meets the wall. It can be internal or external.
    • Jamb – The side of the window
    • Reveal – The part next to the jamb. Can be internal (usually plasterboard) or external (usually timber or brick). If the reveals are set very deep into the thickness of a wall they can provide some shading to the window
    • Mullions and transoms – Found on traditional Victorian style windows, the mullions are the vertical bar in the middle of the window, and the transoms are the horizontal bar.

    Roof parts

    • Trusses – The pieces, usually made of wood, that actually make the roof structure
    • Joists – A horizontal structural element that supports the floor and/or ceiling
    • Eaves – The part of the roof that overhangs the wall. Usually if it’s a sloping roof it would be the part which overhangs the gutter
    • Soffits – Underneath the eaves, the soffits are the horizontal section that you can see
    • Ridge – The point right at the top of the roof, usually where two pitches come together
    • Verge – The part at the side of the house. Usually there would be a bargeboard or piece of wood that goes down the side
    • Parapet – Usually a piece of wall that protrudes up above a flat roof
    Roof trusses
    Roof joists

    Find out more

    Visit the website of Architype

    Follow Architype on Twitter

    Transcript

    Download a transcript of the interview with Lee Fordham.

    The Hub

    If you’re new to self build and looking for more information, then be sure to check out The Hub. It’s full of great resources, video diaries and support from a community of like-minded self-builders.

    Please connect with me

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  • HPH270 : What is the WELL Building Standard? – with Olga Turner Baker from Ekkist

    HPH270 : What is the WELL Building Standard? – with Olga Turner Baker from Ekkist

    Olga Turner Baker describes the WELL Building Standard and explains how the principles can be applied to improve health and well-being on individual projects.

    Interview with Olga Turner Baker

    Olga is a chartered surveyor by training. She first came across the WELL Building Standard back in 2016, and was surprised to find it wasn’t being adopted more widely in the UK. She quickly became passionate about it and started her own business, Ekkist, to specialise in design-led buildings, with a specific focus on health and well-being within.

    Ori House

    The WELL Building Standard is based on medical research

    Launching in the United States in 2014, the WELL Building Standard took all the medical research that had taken place around the world that looked at how buildings impact our health, collated it over a seven year period and turned it into a building code.

    Olga explains it as being a review of all the best practice and best guidance, of all the different components of building design. It covers the best guidance on air quality, water filtration, the safe use of building materials, and even through to management of buildings and how to operate them. It also touches on things like mental health and sense of community.

    While there are criteria that must be met in order to achieve the minimum certification, there are also optimisations which are points that can be earned to get to a higher level.

    Olga describes it as a very technical standard, where you submit documentation and are also tested in practice through performance verification testing. It is a robust procedure which assesses the building in use as well as in design.

    There are ten core areas of buildings that the standard covers:

    Air

    This looks at air filtration and ventilation, keeping the worst of the chemicals and particulate matter and dust out of the buildings, so as not to exacerbate things like allergens or asthma.

    Water

    In much the same way as air filtration, this is to keep out anything that could be harmful, such as coliforms, public water additives, agricultural contaminants, and by-products of disinfectants. It’s about ensuring that the water has been filtered to a high quality, which can be through a carbon filtration system or reverse osmosis.

    Nourishment

    Probably more relevant to buildings that have an operator providing food on site, but also adaptable to our own homes, this looks at the kind of food that is provided within a building. It considers portion sizes, allergen labelling, and reduction of added and refined sugars and any kinds of additives. It encourages healthy food messaging by promoting ethical sourcing of products and eating as much fruit and vegetables as possible.

    Light

    Ensuring we have the right light in buildings helps keep the circadian rhythm and body clock functioning as well as possible. The standard has guidance on sufficient distances from windows, making sure rooms aren’t too deep for the windows provided, and that the right colour quality is being used in relation to the time of day or night.

    Movement

    This thinks about how we encourage activity in the building to improve health. It can be about connection with the outdoors to make it easy for children to play, or in larger buildings it may be about ways of encouraging staircase use rather than lifts.

    Outside of the WELL Standard, but another idea that Olga suggests, is making outdoor space that is usable throughout the seasons, which will naturally encourage more outdoor activity for longer periods of the year.

    Thermal comfort

    Keeping buildings within comfortable thermal parameters is important for not aggravating conditions like asthma, eczema and stress, and making sure that our skin, eyes and organs function properly. Achieving this might be through shading and natural ventilation or mechanical cooling and ventilation systems.

    Sound

    Although not a mandatory part of the WELL Standard, acoustics make up an optimisation which far exceed UK building regulations.

    It looks at both transference of noise between rooms and also transference within a room. Olga says there are plenty of products on the market which can help absorb noise, and materials she particularly likes using for this are cork and clay plaster.

    Materials

    Firstly this looks to avoid materials that we know to be toxic, such as asbestos, mercury, lead and PCBs. In the optimisations of the standard it also considers VOCs and how they can be released from furniture, varnishes, paints and glues. When you’re designing a home you should be trying to reduce these levels by looking at natural sealants and products like sheep’s wool as a furnishing fabric and natural oils.

    As well as reading the specifications on the products, Olga suggests looking for external accreditation that any product you are using has been tested for a health component. Examples of these include Cradle to Cradle and Oeko-Tex.

    Mind

    This looks at how buildings impact our mental health, and what can be done to encourage better mental health through building design.

    Much of this can be down to access to nature, whether that be views across to green spaces or incorporating greenery in and around your rooms.

    Ori House

    And even using wood and other natural materials has been found to have calming effects.

    Community

    The WELL Standard looks at access to community services, community programmes, and how you’re incorporating the wider community as part of your building and initiative.

    Olga also recommends looking at the new NHS Social Prescribing Guidelines, which emphasise how our personal health can really gain from spending time with others, whether that be in group activities, gardening, etc.

    Innovation

    Olga describes innovation as being the most fun part of the WELL Standard. It is where you can be awarded points for coming up with new ideas that help increase health and wellbeing within buildings, that aren’t already covered by the standard. This could be anything like different lighting or having pets on site, as long as there is medical research to support the benefits.

    WELL Standard principles can be applied to individual projects

    While it is not possible to certify a single building, (there must be a minimum of five units and they have to have a common structural element) the principles and good design practice can be applied to individual projects.

    While some designers might be doing these things intuitively anyway as good design practice, for others the standard can just push them a bit further and support them with the scientific research.

    Ori House applies the principles

    Ekkist have worked on a conceptual standalone dwelling, Ori House, where they have applied the principles and taken on the parts that really resonate to homeowners, such as the daylight, air quality, water filtration, and using space better for social interaction but also to encourage privacy within the home.

    “We’ve tried to really think about that and create our own version of what it means to be a community but on an individual building level.”

    Ekkist are currently looking for sites to build this on, and are also working on an urban version, which Olga sees as being important as cities become ever more urbanised.

    “We want the quality and the health benefits of a rural home delivered in an urban environment. That’s our next big goal.”

    Find out more

    Visit the website of Ekkist

    Follow Ekkist on Twitter

    Find out more about the WELL Building Standard

    Check out our episode with Elinor Elisa about how she created a healthy home for her family.

    Transcript

    Download a transcript of the interview with Olga Turner Baker

    Please connect with me

    Subscribe, rate and review the podcast in iTunes

    Rate and review the podcast on Stitcher

    Like our Facebook page

    Follow us on Twitter

  • HPH269 : What is snagging? – with Chris Parsons

    HPH269 : What is snagging? – with Chris Parsons

    Chris Parsons returns to Ben Adam-Smith’s self build home after a year to look for defects. He explains what snagging is, how the list is compiled and how the rectification process works.

    Interview with Chris Parsons

    It has already been a year since Ben Adam-Smith completed his self build project. In that time, Chris Parsons has taken retirement from his architecture business, but still has a few outstanding projects to work on. But before he can entirely devote his time to his new interests there’s the matter of snagging to carry out on Ben’s home.

    There are contractual obligations

    The contract that Ben had with his builder stipulated a 12 month rectification period, whereby they would return to put right any defects of materials or workmanship that arose during that time.

    As part of that contract Ben kept a financial retention to ensure that happens. Once the work has been finalised Chris can issue a certificate and the remainder of the money must be paid.

    Normally if defects occur they can be left and dealt with together at the end of that period, but any that occur that prevent you from enjoying your property should be dealt with in a reasonable time, which is where a good working relationship with your contractor can be advantageous.

    “All defects are inconvenient, but I don’t know anyone who can build absolutely perfectly, spot on, day one.”

    The architect and residents may notice different defects

    Having lived in the house for 12 months there are bound to be things that a resident would notice, which an architect coming to do a defects list may not. This is why Chris recommends keeping your own list, so that the architect can determine whether they are proper defects and if applicable add them to his list for the contractor. Likewise there will also be things that his professional eye would spot that may previously have gone unnoticed.

    A water mark in the kitchen revealed a problem
    The shower tray had dropped and caused the sealant to crack

    Some shrinkage and movement is to be expected

    Chris explains that shrinkage isn’t technically a defect, though a contractor would likely return to put it right anyway. When using some natural materials and any type of plastering process that involves putting in a lot of moisture there will be an amount of shrinkage.

    There will also be some movement as the building settles into position. This may result in cracks on walls or gaps in sealants. Generally the plan to rectify it would involve some filling and redecoration, although this could amount to a considerable amount of work.

    A window with several streaks on the central pane
    The glass in most of the windows had to be replaced

    Ben’s snagging list

    Ben is thankful that there are only a dozen or so items on his snagging list, including:

    • They are aware of some sound connection in the MVHR from the en-suite down into the kitchen, so this is something that Chris will have to check on the drawings to try and work out what could be the cause.
    • The biggest issue they’ve had has been the glazing. There were defects in the glass panels which was down to a manufacturing error, but the supplier dealt with it effectively and these were replaced.
    • There have been some minor shrinkage cracks, but also one around the window reveals where the angle bead has moved which will need to be addressed.
    • The shower tray has dropped a little which may be the cause of a small leak down into the kitchen where the silicone has pulled away a fraction.
    • There is some creaking in the upstairs floorboards, which Chris thinks could be down to natural movement over time and changing during the seasons.

    Occupants need to learn how to use their houses

    During the hottest period of the summer Ben’s house did very briefly reach 28 degrees, but this hasn’t been a cause for concern. Chris says that some houses will naturally be easier to keep cool than others, based on their orientation and site constraints, so at the design stage they will try to mitigate what will likely cause the overheating. He says occupants should also learn the techniques for cooling their house.

    “As designers we need to be looking carefully to try to make sure that our houses can stay cool because we’re going to get more and more of those heatwaves. We need to understand that. We need to make sure that people know how to use their houses, but most of all we need to make sure that designers know what they’re doing. This is not true of the Passivhaus fraternity but I’m not convinced that many of our house designers fully appreciate that problem.”

    There can be a fine line between defects, and wear and tear

    An architect in this situation can take on the role of adjudicator. Chris calls this client management, where an occupant might have something on their own snagging list that actually Chris would put down to being a matter of wear and tear, rather than a contractual defect. It’s Chris’ job to determine what is fair to add to the list that is presented to the contractor.

    Not all defects will be detected within the 12 months

    Even after the 12 month period there may continue to be some movement and shrinkage, however this will then fall outside the responsibility of the contractor.

    There are other defects that the contractor can continue to be held liable for even after this time. These are called latent defects, which might be a defect in materials or workmanship. Even if it’s several years later they can still have some responsibility to come back and put it right. Chris explains that there is a technical legal limit to it, but it’s basically at the point at which it should reasonably have been discovered.

    Later alterations are your responsibility

    Ben is thinking about adding another external water tap. Because the water supply will be inside the thermal envelope Chris advises caution when drilling a hole through the building fabric and making sure a grommet is put on to avoid too much air leakage.

    “But it’s something that is completely down to you to organise. There is no responsibility left for any of the people that were involved in the build contract to deal with your alterations, extensions, or anything else you want to do, other than making sure that you’ve got all the information you need to be able to do it properly.”

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  • HPH268 : The state of self build in the UK – with Jason Orme

    HPH268 : The state of self build in the UK – with Jason Orme

    Self-builder and renovator Jason Orme reflects on the main challenges you face if you want to tackle a house build in the UK.

    Interview with Jason Orme

    Jason Orme is the Editorial Director of Future Plc, the publishing house behind Homebuilding & Renovating magazine, of which he is the former editor. He would categorise himself as a serial self builder, but more recently has taken on a renovation project in Derbyshire with the intention that it will be his family home for at least a few years.

    Doing a renovation has made him a bigger fan of self build!

    With the renovation and remodelling project coming to an end, Jason says the process has been more ambitious, costly and stressful than a self build. Once you have planning permission on a self build you are theoretically in a position to have control over everything, whereas with renovation you tend to be at the mercy of the unknown with old houses that are full of surprises. It’s not something he would be keen to repeat!

    Despite that, Jason and his family were drawn to the project because of a love of the plot, the location and even the original house to some extent. They didn’t need to create much additional space, but rather remodel what was already there and make it more energy efficient.

    Covering up the 1960s ugly stone-clad facade, they built a third layer around the outside which provides excellent levels of insulation, although airtightness will always be more of a challenge to achieve than if starting from scratch on a new build.

    Although Jason is happy in the house and looking forward to enjoying it for the next few years, he hasn’t ruled out another self build in the future, although it would take something special to move away from the location they now have.

    Justify spending on the house by calling it an investment, not expenditure!

    Jason has always tended to put any spare money into property, which he hopes will end up being an investment rather than a cost. He says he’s happy to have large outgoings and mortgages on properties because ultimately it should pay back, while at the same time you have the enjoyment of living there.

    Self build is delivering fewer homes than ten years ago

    2005 saw a peak in self building of up to 19,000 homes a year. That is now closer to 14,000, although the demand is probably greater than ever. Jason cites the two main causes as being problems for people selling existing properties to provide the finance, and the types of plots available. While land opportunities have improved a little, it is typically serviced plots on large developments like Graven Hill, rather than individual plots. When people dream of building their own home part of that dream tends to be the location, and living on a large estate, whether a self build or not, isn’t to everybody’s liking.

    Jason sees some kind of balance being self build communities that can give an element of individuality and isolation to people.

    “This has been my twentieth year in the self-build sector and the frustration for me really is that we’ve sold an awful lot of magazines over the years and met hundreds of thousands of people at the shows and spoken to people on the websites, more than you can imagine really. We haven’t actually really made a fundamental difference if we’re honest with ourselves in terms of the number of self-build homes that have been delivered.”

    Research they have carried out with the National Custom and Self Build Association has shown roughly a million people in the UK are ‘actively’ looking to build a home, yet only a few thousand each year go on to do it. Jason suspects the majority of these people have a look on Rightmove and are put off by the out-of-reach prices. For those that do continue, his instinct that what’s stopping them isn’t not being able to find a plot, but that they’re so fixated on a certain type of plot which they’re not going to find at a realistic price, or perhaps they just somehow can’t make the commitment.

    “So, I think if people can be flexible and have that imagination then by and large, with a reasonable budget and obviously that varies from area to area, it shouldn’t be unrealistic for them.”

    There should be an influx of plots on the market soon

    The right to build legislation came about in the UK in 2016, which made it compulsory for local authorities to keep a register of people interested in buying plots of land, and ensure that they had that same number of plots available to purchase within three years. We’re now at that point of those three years having passed so thousands of plots should be coming to the market, but whether they will be plots that people want or in areas they want to live in will be the issue.

    Right to Build

    Self-builders can have an advantage over developers

    In his seminars at the Homebuilding & Renovation Show, Jason explains how there are two types of building plots.

    One type is that which has a ‘For Sale’ board outside and can be found on the market through estate agents and auctions.

    The second is what he describes as the plots that developers go after. These can be found using planning permission data and using Google Maps.

    Opportunities for self-builders arise where there are plots that large and small scale developers can’t quite see how they could build housing. Where they’re looking for a field or flat piece of land to build ten houses, they won’t be so keen on more awkward scraps of land, like old garages.

    “So, the self-builder’s opportunity, I think, is in actually embracing the stuff that makes them different which is the individuality of the design and that agile nature of development.”

    Management of budget is critical and needs flexibility

    Jason has often found that people who work in offices don’t feel that they are well-placed to self build, but actually he thinks they have transferable skills like organisation, project management and making tough decisions about money.

    Having control of finances is crucial and Jason says it helps to think of it in terms of a spreadsheet where if some things are going above original estimates, then reductions might need to be made elsewhere in order to balance it out. He thinks if you can be flexible in terms of these smaller pots of money rather than thinking of it as one big pot, then you can begin to take back control.

    With finance often being the biggest cause of stress on a job, but plenty of other factors beyond your control to add to it, Jason says to some extent it should be part of the main contractor’s role to absorb that stress on your behalf.

    Where costs do go out of control during the construction, it isn’t usually down to the construction but flaws in the design process. A good design process should include the budget, engineering issues and proper site layout.

    “Where I see the failures, it’s usually where the architect at that early stage hasn’t been able to put all those different factors together into a package that the main contractor can then go on to deliver. It’s often just left to the main contractor to work out the gaps.”

    There is always more to learn

    With twenty years in the business, Jason says it’s a constant learning experience and you’re never going to know it all. From talking to other self builders, architects and contractors you will find out other ways of doing things and improving on them.

    In his experience it’s often self-builders that are also engineers who quite often try to find out everything they need to know about house construction on their own, so they can almost second guess the designer and the architect. Jason says this usually ends in tears because they’re never going to know it all!

    In his experience it’s far better to leave all that to the people he is employing to do it. Where it often falls apart is where there is a breakdown in trust between the homeowner and the people that they’re employing.

    When it comes to architects, the ones to avoid are those that struggle to understand the relationship that they’re meant to have with their client. It shouldn’t be a case of dictating ‘this is the design you should have’, or even ‘what do you want me to design for you?’

    “The happy medium is the one that you’re looking for where architects can deliver something that obviously adds their value in. And going back to that thing about trust really, I want architects to be able to come up with ideas that I can’t and solve problems that I can’t. That’s really what you’re paying for.”

    Architects often tend to be specialised in limited styles of design, rather than excelling at all different types of house.

    “It’s wise, I think, to try to pick a design style first and pick almost a process and a target, an objective almost for the project, and then begin to put the team together on the back of that.”

    There needs to be trust within the team

    Jason says there’s also a misconception in the sector that builders are there to be feared or controlled, when actually, the good ones clearly know far more than their clients and should be empowered and just left to get on with it.

    Finding that builder that you can trust in this way is he says part art and part science: the science being the recommendations and background company checks.

    The other part comes down to gut instinct, and thinking about whether they listen to you, are constructive, understand what you’re trying to do with the house, can relate to the family and can appreciate that the budget is tight and that this will be critical to the project. It will need to be someone you think you can trust to be around for the duration of the project and sometimes have difficult discussions with.

    Design flexibility into the house

    Having seen so many self builds, Jason is able to grasp the feel of a home and what does and doesn’t work so well. The right mix can be a space that doesn’t feel too grand or clinical, but instead gives you that ‘wow’ moment each time you walk in, and that is down to good architecture.

    It is important to build flexibility into the design, with space for a growing family so far as is possible. And while the rooms and spaces themselves don’t have to be large, if they can be flexible in their design it allows a family space to spread out and do their own things.

    With the trend for adding extensions to create an open plan living, cooking and eating area, Jason feels they are often designed with daytime and summer in mind, but come winter or the evening they can be lacking that cosy, snug space where actually people just want to curl up in front of the TV.

    Jason cites a number of reasons why people are staying in their houses for longer: houses are more expensive, stamp duty makes it very costly to move, flexibility in working arrangements means people don’t have to move for work as much. And while people tend to stay in their homes for longer, their needs change depending on children growing up, moving away etc, so that flexibility again is so important with being able to adapt to the occupants, rather than moving out.

    It isn’t affordable enough for younger generations

    A notable change in the types of people attending the home shows is that the self build community is getting older and greyer. Nowadays self build can take more money to do than it used to, with greater demand for land and resulting prices escalating, and the cost of materials increasing.

    Jason worries that the opportunities for self build are not as available now to people in their twenties and thirties, and this is something that he would like to see change. But that will take changes in financial offerings, planning law and land availability.

    His advice to them would be to be realistic and flexible in terms of area and the type of plot to go for. He warns against holding out for the perfect plot on the edge of a village with panoramic views, and suggests instead considering looking at the less attractive plots. He says as well as ugly duckling houses, there are ugly duckling plots which, once landscaped and with a well designed house on top, can really add value.

    Jason suggests starting out in self build like starting on the property ladder, where you start small, do it two or three times and work your way up to building the house of your dreams. And with labour accounting for roughly half the costs on the build, he says you can save thousands of pounds by doing things like the tiling, kitchen fitting, decorating and landscaping yourself.

    “One of the great unwritten things about self-building and renovating as well is that you never seem to quite get that day where you sit back and you say, ‘I’ve done it’ and you can sit back and enjoy it.

    “You’ve just got to enjoy it as it goes through and take those little marks because there’s always going to be the garden to do; there’s always going to be that bit of the house that you didn’t quite finish off properly. I think for people who are interested in housing like we are, and there are thousands of people like us, I think, you have to just realise that that’s part of the process and part of the pleasure.”

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  • HPH267 : Self build tips, eco design and the climate emergency – with Kevin McCloud from Grand Designs

    HPH267 : Self build tips, eco design and the climate emergency – with Kevin McCloud from Grand Designs

    Kevin McCloud from Grand Designs shares practical advice on how to approach an ecological build, and comments on how architecture needs to change to address the climate emergency.

    Interview with Kevin McCloud

    Kevin McCloud has been synonymous with self build for the last 20 years. No doubt anyone planning their own project has had conversations with friends, family and colleagues about Grand Designs, as the programme has inspired a generation of people to dream about building their own home and, for some of those, to make it a reality. As well as being integral to the success of the TV show, Kevin is also the founder of HAB custom build houses.

    Grand Designs has diversified

    The busiest period of filming for Grand Designs is between May and October when Kevin can be filming up to fifteen hours a day, for three days a week. Because it’s impossible to know whether a project is going to take several months or several years they’re never quite sure what is going to end up in each series.

    Kevin attributes the show’s longevity to being able to find interesting stories that they haven’t covered before, whether that might be about a Passivhaus construction, a new technology or building for a disability.

    The Grand Designs brand has expanded to include ‘Grand Designs: House of the Year‘ in association with RIBA, and in 2019 also brought us ‘Grand Designs: The Street‘. This followed a number of self build projects taking place on a single street on the Graven Hill development in Bicester, with plans to return and film another series.

    Kevin says one of the most significant films he made was in series one, which was a community housing project in Brighton called The Hedgehog Housing Co-op, that used a Walter Segal construction method. In the future he would be keen to follow another community self build co-housing scheme, but says that they’re sadly very hard to find.

    There have been some stand-out eco projects

    Some of Kevin’s favourite projects have been ones with a focus on sustainability. One he particularly enjoyed was Ben Law, who in 2003 built his house out of his own coppiced wood. He describes it as being a beautiful story where nothing went wrong to create a fabulously beautiful house.

    “It was a film in which the word sustainability was mentioned once by Ben and I thought that was great. It elegantly told the story without hammering it on people’s heads.”

    Copyright ben-law.co.uk

    Another memorable one was the Lammas Project, which followed a couple building in Wales. He says it was a beautiful film about super low-impact living that was as much about the lifestyle as it was about the architecture.

    “It’s rather like ecological cars. They don’t exist. There’s no such thing as an ecological car. It doesn’t matter whether it’s full of batteries or it runs on dog poo. The point is, it’s all about our consumption and use of vehicles that determines whether their use has an impact on the planet. That’s where fundamentally the largest amount of environmental impact happens, in use.

    “And it’s the same with dwellings. So, you can build yourself an eco-house but if you continue to drive fifty miles to work every day and continue to live an exorbitant lifestyle, it doesn’t really achieve very much.”

    Being asthmatic himself, Kevin had a keen interest in Elinor Olisa’s healthy home that featured in the last series. With two children that suffered from life-threatening allergies, Elinor researched every product coming into the home to check for VOC levels and potential triggers. She has worked with the University of York to monitor the environmental performance and the results have been staggering.

    “A fabric first approach is glorious”

    A theme of the recent series and also in his own work, is a leaning towards a fabric first method of building, rather than bolting things on to make them seem more sustainable. Invariably the latter is an expensive and unnecessary way of working, but choosing the right materials and using them in an intelligent way is a far better approach.

    “It’s like the argument about the Americans and the Russians in their Space Race. The Americans spent tens of thousands of pounds developing a ballpoint pen that would write upside down in space, and the Russians used pencils. I don’t think that’s true but I just love the story.”

    A sense of responsibility

    Kevin believes the responsibility as architects and builders should be to build buildings which are super-efficient in terms of how they use energy and their resources, but they should also ‘deliver a quality of life that makes their arguments utterly compelling.’

    Achieving this takes a combination of good design where homes cost very little to run, where the experience of being in the buildings is uplifting and where people want to stay and build a community.

    “It’s the idea of how you use the spaces in between buildings to create social sustainability which has in itself a collective reduction in demand on the planet’s resources. In other words, if you share an allotment and you grow your own food; if you join a car club because you know your neighbours and you want to do it; if between you, you buy a bicycle for the street; or buy one trampoline for five households for the kids; or one shed; or one lawnmower between five homes; what you’re doing is actually, you’re sharing cost, you’re saving yourselves loads of money, and you’re also saving resources and making your collective imprint on the planet lighter.”

    People often think of self build as a collection of ideas at the start

    These ideas might be around what sort of bathrooms, kitchens, taps, sofas, lights etc that people like, and they assemble the home based on aspects which are more associated with the interior design than the architecture.

    Kevin sees architecture as being:

    “a process of design which is very good at resolving all kinds of issues to do with how buildings, places respond to where they are, to site, to the environment, to their location, to the passage of the sun, to how they function in engineering terms, but also how they provide uplifting and exciting spaces for their occupants that lift the spirits.”

    For him architecture is about creating a connection with the outdoors, while also problem solving things like storage space, and a lot less about the taps!

    Grand Designs ‘The Street’ (copyright gravenhill.co.uk)
    Grand Designs ‘The Street’ (copyright gravenhill.co.uk)

    Enable more people to self build, as it can be truly empowering

    Kevin says that it’s pretty much established that the middle classes can go out and build for themselves, and he would like those opportunities open to more people. He believes that through community you get a far greater sense of attachment to a place and an accompanying sense of empowerment from building your own home. It’s a combination that could be life-changing for many people.

    To do this, self build needs to be:

    • More widespread
    • Facilitated by local authorities
    • Have dedicated sites, with communities of self-builders working together
    • Truly affordable
    • Have more co-housing community schemes
    • Have housing associations working with groups of their residents as clients to build accommodation

    Kevin would like to see people being empowered in as many ways as possible, and yet the system in the UK is set up to favour the large developers controlling the market. While he wouldn’t suggest a future entirely dominated by self build or community self build, he would like to see a diversity of offerings which would create a healthier market.

    Large numbers of people wanting to build together within a community can put pressure on the authorities to deal with their land assets in a different way. There is even a question of whether land in public ownership should have a financial value attached to it, because of the net social capital that can be created by building together, and which is very evident in schemes across Europe. And if that community can be further enhanced with car share, improved cycle routes and better public transport and sharing generally, then that social capital has been increased even more.

    Development is a dysfunctional industry

    In considering what it would take to solve the housing crisis in the UK, Kevin says he would need to be the Prime Minister as the industry is so dysfunctional!

    “I would empower small and medium enterprises; I would mitigate against the large housebuilders; I would mandate every single local authority to allocate land. I’d use the Right to Build Act in fact.

    “The trouble is, everything I’m describing has already been tried. And that’s the difficulty. It’s not one problem. We have a crisis in numbers; we have a crisis of quality; we have a crisis in affordability; we have a crisis in planning. We have only half of the number of planners that we need. And we don’t have within central government a statement of faith. And what I would personally like to see, if I could do one thing, I would announce a national statement of faith in social housing.

    “We need to move back to a world where we integrate, where tenure is blind, where you can’t tell who owns and who rents, where housing is considered a basic human right, and we need to create the mechanisms to make that affordable not just to own but to rent, to share, and to occupy by whatever means. There are plenty of tenure models around the world which work.

    “So, what we have is a binary system in the UK which is hilariously out-of-date and a market delivery mechanism which is dysfunctional and broken. So, we’ve got lots to mend, lots to do, but by just saying, ‘we believe in council housing’ or ‘we believe in providing high quality housing for all and we will do everything we can to achieve that’ would be a wonderful thing.”

    Grand Designs Live

    The Grand Designs Live exhibitions take place in the UK twice a year. Kevin is proud that they offer tangible opportunities for people to touch and feel products and experience their quality. As part of the exhibition there is also an exchange of ideas where you can get help and advice from experts.

    Milk bottle house at Grand Designs Live

    With his passion for innovation, Kevin is excited by the new technology being showcased, with exhibitors now selling products on their stands that only a couple of years ago were in the ‘Green Heroes’ section.

    Find out more

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  • HPH264 : Your forever home lifestyle – with Mark Siddall from LEAP

    HPH264 : Your forever home lifestyle – with Mark Siddall from LEAP

    Mark Siddall from LEAP explains his framework the ‘Forever Home Lifestyle’ and how he uses it with his clients.

    Interview with Mark Siddall

    Mark Siddall is an architect with a passion for designing low energy buildings. Recently he’s taken a look back at his last decade of projects and thought about the things that clients have asked for and what their cumulative thinking is. He’s used this as a starting point to come up with his ten point framework for a forever home lifestyle.

    Preston Springs Passivhaus

    Contentment and character

    The first step on Mark’s framework is to think about contentment in the right ways and in different timeframes.

    When we think about contentment it is usually in terms of an actual design and, largely the character of the design. That can be broken down into the interior and the exterior. Externally there might be constraints by planning related considerations, and internally it’s more about budget and aspirations that can transfer into elements of style.

    “The sense of wellbeing that comes from being content is incredibly important and it means different things in different contexts. It’s an opening into a deeper level of conversation that will allow people to make a more robust appreciation of what they actually want.”

    Convenience

    Once emotional constraints have been considered, then there’s convenience. This covers the room layout, the accessibility around the house, and the way that it supports and compliments our lifestyle. This means thinking about the flow, the circulation spaces, the function of the rooms, the furniture and fittings that come with that.

    When Mark goes through the process of developing a brief, he will conduct a survey of what people do and don’t like about where they’re currently living, to determine how important a particular factor is and what the implications are.

    “They’ve obviously selected to live there; they’ve made those choices and its informed their understanding. So, if they want to then move to the next level and improve their quality of life, how can we take the best of what they’ve got and then top it and make it even better?”

    Control

    Having control over your own comfort is very important, and ties in to an emotional criteria. That can be down to opening or closing windows, controlling heating systems, creating a healthy environment through air quality, noise levels and controlling sunlight levels to prevent overheating.

    Confidence

    This is about how confident a self-builder / homeowner can be about what they’re seeking to achieve. Mark says that his building performance evaluation provides evidence-based reassurance to support and justify decision making. Using PHPP is part of that process for Mark, as without it you wouldn’t get the quality control that is required for delivering buildings that the performance predicted. He says there are no definitive answers from this, but that he is there to provide guidance to help clients make their own informed decisions.

    Community

    Community is important when putting your 25 or 50 year framework in place. It is about thinking of whether you want to live in isolation, or within a hamlet or town setting for example, and considering what kind of support you might need in the future or can offer yourself. That can also lead to thoughts about co-housing or community-led housing which might compliment different lifestyles.

    Connection

    A natural progression is to then consider connection and accessibility of amenities and looking ahead to whether you will be living in an area that can support your needs in older age. These thoughts then inform what kind of site you’re looking for, and whether you’ll be able to walk or cycle safely, or if it’s a walkable distance from bus stops taking you where you might need to go once driving is no longer an option. Mark says clients will often have an emotional connection to a site because of the remote location or wonderful views, without thinking about how well it will serve them in the future.

    Larch Corner interior

    Futureproofing

    This looks at getting the right kinds of spaces and also thinking about how things might change over time. It also ties in with low-energy housing and Passivhaus, where energy bills can be fairly inconsequential, thus offering a level of financial independence once a mortgage has been paid off.

    There is sense in designing the building so that in the future it could be adapted if mobility was a problem, by making level flooring, having the right things in the walls ready in case handrails are needed, and having access through the house for wheelchairs or walking frames.

    Financial Peace

    As well as thinking about the freedom from energy bills, this is concerned with budgets and how to stick to them.

    Even before Mark is instructed as an architect he will do a piece of work using his experience of previous similar builds to give a rough range of costs. This can give the basis for conversations to be had around what might be achievable in terms of what the size and nature of the house might be, before even getting into the design stage. It is however only a starting point.

    “That means that informed decisions can happen before there’s a design taking place. And that’s really important. That way we understand what we’re designing because the budget informs the brief incredibly and we’ve got to design within those budgetary constraints.”

    “I can provide a bracket somewhere between this and that, at a very formative stage. There are things that I can do as an architect that can help to stack the odds in our favour of it being more cost effective in terms of the compact form and thinking about things like that, but at the same time, there’s that reconciliation and there’s always the changing marketplace which means that we always can find that there is going to be some movement and further conversations to have. It’s not done once and then never looked at again.”

    Faithful custodian

    Mark sees himself as an architect and also custodian of the built environment. He says that sustainability can seem broad and rather distant, but once his clients see themselves as custodians too they have positive and constructive conversations that develop and benefit their designs.

    “So, as a custodian, we’re thinking about how we can address climate change, how we can reduce carbon emissions, how we can live more sustainably, how we can help repair and remediate damage to the ecology and biodiversity. And how we can then start to use the buildings that we design collaboratively; how they can then start to do something restorative to improve the quality of life and at least impact less than may have been the previous case.

    There are all sorts of different perspectives about what that might mean and how it relates to their lifestyle, and that’s all fruitful conversation which helps enrich my understanding and I can then pass that on and enrich somebody else’s.”

    Abundant free time

    This asks how the house will support and provide a framework for having an abundance of free time and improving quality of life.

    In simple terms it can be about providing opportunities to work from home and avoid a long commute. It also thinks about diet and fitness and keeping physically and mentally active.

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    Transcript

    Download a transcript of the interview with Mark Siddall

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