CHERHILL, WILTSHIRE
Environmental Homes
Cherhill, near Calne. Wiltshire
client
Westlea Housing Association
The first Integer houses built for family occupation, for a forward thinking registered social landlord, benchmarked at the time, with the highest recorded HQI score.
These were the first Integer homes constructed in the UK, and indeed anywhere, following the creation of the Millennium House, as featured in BBC1's 'Dream House' Series.
In moving forward with the development, our client has visibly shown their commitment to the public statement of "raising the standard of social housing through innovation and good practice".
Constructed of prefabricated wall and floor panels (cassettes) the houses were delivered to site ready for assembly by a site team. The timber frame cassettes were manufactured of structural timber 'I' beams, with cavities factory filled with cellulose insulation (recycled newspapers) insulation.
By using a structural timber 'I' beam, larger spans were achievable allowing flexibility in the internal layout and open plan layouts to the ground floor.
A passive ventilation system is installed throughout, providing both air extraction and background ventilation.
A grey water recycling system took waste water from the sinks and bath and treated it for re-use to flush toilets. This reduces the water consumption by up to 30%. A roof mounted Solar Panel contributed to the occupants hot water needs.
Under the UK government’s DETR backed Housing Quality Indicators benchmark scheme an exceptionally high Housing Quality Indicator score of 77% was obtained under the then criteria, the highest ever recorded, loosing percentage points only because of its rural location.
Part of the value benefit which we brought to the scheme was in securing a planning approval for two dwellings on a site which formerly had just one house, located just yards from a designated ‘Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty’. Although the design of these 2 semi-detached homes was different to anything built in the county before, the development was considered sympathetic and suitable by the planning authority.
Environmental features:
