Carrowbreck Meadow
The Carrowbreck meadow development in Norwich is one of the first Passivhaus certified residential projects in the area.
Blackburn Cathedral
Porotherm Clay Block Walling System
Architect: Hamson Barron Smith
Contractor: RG Carter Construction
Site Address: Drayton High Road, Norwich
Client: Broadland Growth Limited
Project Type: New Build Housing
Product: Porotherm Clay Block Walling System
Project Length: 12 Months
The design combines local ‘barn’ vernacular with a contemporary twist and incorporates simple black and white materials palette. The homes were designed to sit comfortably in their woodland setting and were positioned to take advantage of solar energy throughout the seasons.
Fourteen new dwellings were developed - 8 detached and 6 semidetached - which were designed using the Passivhaus principles to build houses with cost effective, long term energy performance. To help achieve this Porotherm, Wienerberger’s innovative clay block walling system, was specified.
The project has since been nominated for a number of awards:
RIBA East Awards 2017 - RIBA East Design Award
RIBA Awards 2017 - RIBA National Award
Norfolk Constructing Excellence Awards - Innovation and Sustainability Project of the year
NPS Excellence Awards - Innovation
RTPI Awards for Planning Excellence - Excellence in Planning to Deliver Housing
LABC East Anglia Building Excellence Awards - Best New Housing Development
Design & Craftsmanship Awards - New Residential
Building Awards - Housing Project of the Year
LABC Grand Finals - Best High Volume New Housing Development
House Builder Awards - Best Sustainable Scheme and Best Design (3 storeys or fewer)
The Challange
The project was commissioned by Norwich city council to promote the passivhaus standard, which is the fastest growing energy performance standard in the UK. The passivhaus standard aims to promote the building of houses that have both an excellent thermal performance and exceptional airtightness with mechanical ventilation.
It marks a point at which the local authority were beginning to invest directly in quality local housing, having chosen to invest in a quality, high standard of energy efficiency.
The Solution
The porotherm system was specified for the project as an efficient alternative to traditional building materials such as timber, concrete or light steel frames. The ability to achieve the level of thermal efficiency and airtightness required for passivhaus certification was one of the key considerations. The system helped to achieve a thermal bridge and draught free building envelope, which exceeds building regulation requirements for airtightness five times over.
Porotherm was also considered because of its environmentally friendly and long lasting properties, with a long life expectancy of more than 150 years. It is a stronger, safer and much faster system and allows for direct labour to be used, enabling greater control of costs and an increase in efficiency.
Carrowbreck Meadows
Carrowbreck Meadows
Carrowbreck Meadows
Carrowbreck Meadows
Carrowbreck Meadows
Carrowbreck Meadows
Carrowbreck Meadows
