Bristol City Council aim for ‘passive house plus’ with 23 new eco homes

This new development is spread across five brownfi eld sites, and all the units are also designed to meet Code for Sustainable Homes level four and Lifetime Homes standards. It is one of a number of new passive house developments that Gale & Snowden is working on, including the recently announced Rennes House social housing scheme of 26 one and two bedroom flats in Exeter.

Gale & Snowden Architects said that its approach to sustainable construction is to rigorously employ passive house design principles to ensure that, through a fabric first approach, its buildings use minimum amounts of energy and water; while being comfortable, easy to use and healthy for the occupants by meeting ‘building biology’ best practice guidance.

The units in the Bristol City Council development are designed to meet the new ‘passive house plus’ standard, which rewards buildings that generate renewable energy on site as well as meeting the rigorous traditional passive house energy efficiency requirements. The development will feature rendered masonry walls and trussed timber construction with clay tiles externally.

Meanwhile the landscape design will focus on food production, water, energy and shelter in a way that also enhances the natural environment by employing permaculture design principles. It will aim to integrate the new development with its surroundings and creates a sense of ownership and community among its residents.

Enabled by funding from the Technology Strategy Board, Gale & Snowden has been at the forefront of developing integrated design strategies that help to extend the useful life of a building by future proofi ng it against the effects from climate change without adding costs to a project.