In the foreground of the photograph below you can see the 220mm thick Mantle Panels which form the complete external envelope including insulation and structure! With a u-value of just 0.1W/msqK and air-permeability results down to 1.0 they are not only fast and cost-effective but also incredibly environmentally friendly. On top of that, the interlocking nature of the panels allows for complex designs with cantilevers, stepped facades etc to be readily achieved.

The three new contemporary eco-homes designed for Econvery Developments Ltd in Church Crookham, Hampshire are now all completed and occupied. The houses incoporate many eco-friendly technologies and features including wood-chip boilers, photovoltaic panels as well as solar thermal heating, triple glazing and green roof to the rear.

Click here for more information and images on this project.

Owners of the first of these developer marketed homes

Granted Permission by the Planning Inspectorate in August 2008 following an appeal against Hart District Council it was noted by the Planning Inspector in his report that “the innovative designs proposed would enliven an otherwise unremarkable line of dwellings.” The houses were constructed by local developer Econvery.

The design and siting of the houses respond to the long, thin nature of the site. The houses are set back from the road and screened using dense new planting to provide both visual and acoustic screening from the main road and due to the linear nature of the site daylighting into the houses was focused at the ends of the buildings thus avoiding overlooking issues to the adjoining properties. A re-entrant courtyard along the side elevation allows natural light to be brought into the centre of the house and forms a natural secluded space off the main living spaces while still allowing views from the living room out to the rear gardens through the kitchen space on the other side of the courtyard via the large glazed openings.

The external finish materials include white self-coloured render and timber cladding and were selected as they are common to the area while also complementing the contemporary design. The position of the timber cladding in relation to the render has been designed to emphasise the re-entrant corners at the front and rear of the houses while also breaking down the long side elevations into smaller visual components.

The single storey rear extensions have been completed with an “extensive green roof”. This type of roof is planted with tough, drought-proof, evergreen, low-growing and low-maintenance plants such as sedums. Such roofs are not intended to be accessed and used a roof-terraces, rather they are seen as helping to preserve the natural landscape and bio-diversity on the site and helping to absorb water in times of heavy rainfall, while also contributing greatly to the insulation of the building.

The Planning Authority cited “overshadowing” as a reason for their initial refusal. BWP Architects produced a series of sun-path analysis drawings which the Inspector referred to in his report, stating “the modelled shadow diagrams show that the proposal would have little impact on the amount of sunlight reaching the gardens or windows of the adjoining neighbours.” Without these, the decision to overturn the planners refusal may have been different.

Granted Permission by the Planning Inspectorate in August 2008 following an appeal against Hart District Council it was noted by the Planning Inspector in his report that “the innovative designs proposed would enliven an otherwise unremarkable line of dwellings.”

For more details of these houses click here.

The Inspector granted the appeal and in his report stated that:

…the innovative designs proposed would enliven an otherwise unremarkable line of dwellings.

As part of the information put together by BWP Architects an animation and series of images were created to demonstrate the path of the shadows created by the proposals on the adjoining properties.

The council had cited “overshadowing” as one of their reasons for refusal but the Inspector, having examined the shadow drawings, stated the the “modelled shadow diagrams show that the proposal would have little impact on the amount of sunlight reaching the gardens or windows of the adjoining neighbours.”

3D modelling of designs is a standard service offered by BWP Architects and the importance of sun-path analysis during the design stage is clearly bourne out by the Inspectors decision – without the evidence produced by the model the appeal may not have been granted.