»Layout and Lifetime Homes provision
The houses are updated, both internally and externally, to conform to Lifetime Homes principles of refurbishment. Externally, parking spaces are provided in a collective parking and refuse area that also features a communal allotment and garden amenity areas. Level access is provided at both front and rear.

Each house has its own private rear garden. Defensible space is formed to the front of the lounge and entrance areas with the front gardens being merged into a single space next to the tree lined pedestrianised street, which is outlined in the masterplan. New front entrance porches provide a wind lobby, contributing to the improved thermal performance of the scheme.

At ground floor, the store under the stair is replaced with a small WC and basin. Provision is also made in the two mid-terrace houses for the future installation of a shower at ground floor. The bathroom is removed from the kitchen area, and replaced with a larger accessible bathroom at first floor, which can be accessed directly by hoist from the master bedroom.

The removal of the ground floor bathroom allows the kitchen to be expanded into a kitchen/dining area. The new dining space also allows for provision of a platform lift, which connects to the master bedroom above. The first floor is re-organised to include a single bedroom and small store on the landing. The master bedroom is large enough to include a study.

Existing and proposed doors have been made 1m wide throughout. Landings have likewise been widened to aid accessibility. A new staircase connects to a double ensuite bedroom at second floor, which opens onto a terrace facing the rear garden. A small plant room housing the consumer units for the various renewable energy systems is accessed from this bedroom. Window openings are modified to both allow views out from seated positions and to improve quality of natural light into habitable rooms.

»The Suited and Booted Terrace
The design recreates the terrace to provide four carbon neutral homes in which occupants may comfortably live out the duration of their lives. The scheme integrates both private and shared external spaces, as well as linking with the cycle and car parking and refuse provision within the wider master plan.

»A carbon neutral solution
The housing sector is responsible for 27% of the country's carbon emissions, so creating a scheme that attained a high level of sustainability and minimum ecological impact has been at the centre of the designers' approach. Passivhaus principles are applied with the aim of gaining Code for Sustainable Homes level 6 accreditation. An initial assessment carried out by code assessors Energist Ltd shows a 91% reduction in carbon emissions.

The terrace is insulated externally and cloaked in charred larch cladding. The cladding is sourced from the local FSC plantation and milling site. Where possible a detailed analysis of the embodied energy and environmental performance of all selected materials has been carried out. The superinsulated airtight envelope (0.6 air changes per hour) enables the removal of all internal space heating systems, which commonly account for around 50% of a building's overall energy usage. In line with Passivhaus guidelines, passive heating systems, namely the body heat of occupants and household appliances, are used to maintain thermal comfort.

An additional pre-heater battery is used as a back-up on the coldest days of the year. Fresh air is provided, without compromising the internal temperature, via a passively ventilated heat recovery system.

All energy requirements are provided by renewable means, with 20m2 of photovoltaic panels on the flat roof section providing 1500-1800kWh per annum. This is up to 138% of the building's energy requirements. Surplus energy generated during the day and sold back to the grid will provide an income for residents and allow them to supplement the cost of energy used during the evenings.

The implementation of water restriction and recycling systems are designed to lead to a reduction of potable water usage to less than 80 litres per person per day. Included among these is a rainwater harvesting tank, which collects water discharge from the second floor terrace and flow restrictors fitted throughout.

Externally, a sustainable drainage system is installed. Through the introduction of local plant species in the back garden, the ecology of the site is improved by around 30%.

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