self build on a shoestring
house | passivhaus
Low cost self-build Passivhaus home competition entry
This was our entry for the National Self Build Associations’s self build on a shoestring competition; an innovative design for a three bedroom home can be self-built to the strict Passivhaus standard for under £45,000.
The house’s width makes the most of views to the garden and available sunlight, whilst carefully controlled openings create variety within a relatively compact form. The ground floor features a generous open-plan living/kitchen diner with large doors opening out onto a terrace.
The simple approach taken to construction means the house could be easily built with basic joinery skills either on or off-site. It also makes it easy to adapt to the individual self-builder’s needs or the regional context it sits within. The orientation could even be changed to fit a narrower plot or the local vernacular.
The design has been modelled to meet the most stringent of energy standards. However, renewable technology could be easily retrofitted or additional insulation added if required. It’s also important to understand that a passivhaus solution is a project and site specific one and any changes may change the calculated energy performance.
Our submission was selected as one of the final shortlist of 7 proposals. In the presentation at Grand Designs Live on the 5th October it was discussed along with the other schemes in a live presentation by Kevin McCloud, Charlie Luxton and Ted Stevens. It was described as “probably the most attractive entry” and as the most thoroughly researched and costed. Encouragingly it was one of 2 shortlisted schemes that achieved the Passivhaus standard. Unfortunately, it didn’t win. The top sixteen including the seven strong shortlist have been uploaded to the NaSBA website.
On the 29th October an informal event was held at Ash Sakula’s offices in London opening the short-listed schemes for further discussion. I couldn’t make it but Andy Thomas kindly presented my scheme. A video of the presentations has been posted on vimeo.
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