New Cranes Court, Basildon, Essex
Awards:
Sustainable Larger Housing Project of the Year 2012
Sustain’ Awards 2013, ‘Development'
International Green Apple Award for the Built Environment 2012
Some Firsts:
A 28-unit residential development, one of the first zero carbon developments in the Thames Gateway and one of the first affordable housing projects to attain Level 6 in the Government’s Code for Sustainable Homes. The first housing development with heating and electricity provided by a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) unit fuelled by glycerol (a biodiesel waste product).
Aims:
About:
The development replaced outmoded and derelict 1970’s hostel accommodation. An exemplar of eco-friendly place-making, certified to Level 6 Code for Sustainable Homes. Tooley and Foster Architects that designed the development stated expected typical running costs of £6 per week for heating, lighting and hot water for a 4 bedroom house.
As the planners refused solar panels due to the proximity to the Listed church the development's high energy efficiency was achieved with triple glazing, highly insulated factory-made timber frame panels, larger windows facing south and efficient ventilation systems with energy recovery. All homes have a glycerol bio-fuelled combined heat and power plant installed for providing carbon neutral electricity and hot water. Any surplus electricity to be returned to the grid. Low water use WCs and bathroom fittings reduce water demand, and flood reducing SUDS drainage is included. Sustainable materials were used throughout. (credits Tooley and Foster Partnership)
Project Sponsor & Team:
Swan Housing Association, Tooley & Foster Partnership, Kent Architecture Centre (Clare Wright & Barry Shaw) Potter Raper (Construction Consultancy) and Denne Construction
Findings shared to:
CABE (Design Council), EEDA and Homes England, and disseminate findings within Swan Housing Group and to members of the Regional Architects Panel.
Pre-Planning project development:
Clare Wright with Barry Shaw led the project development workshops and site visits for client (Housing Corporation and Local Authority Planning and Housing team with future tenant representatives) and architect liaison in order to understand site constraints and local and wider opportunities leading to development of the successful brief for the site. This brief was used to inform the scheme. This careful project development assisted in the successful planning application and eventual construction of this forward thinking and award winning development by Tooley & Foster Architects.
Building in Context TOOLKIT: Regional and national training programme
The Building in Context TOOLKIT began as an experimental project initiated and funded by English Heritage South East Region (with Dr. Nigel Barker-Mills) and created jointly with the south east's regional architecture centre, the Kent Architecture Centre. It was founded upon the joint publication by English Heritage and CABE (the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment) published in 2002.
The TOOLKIT training programme sought to redress issues of often poorly conceived development in conservation areas and other sensitive sites, filling the gap in providing robust methods for determining what would be appropriate and the confidence to approve contemporary schemes. The programme's goal was to encourage high-quality design in historically sensitive areas through the use of case studies and a 'live' or topical site in the District or Borough where the training would take place. It would encourage understanding of development that translated the unique history, character, and context of each site and yet work towards creating a development of contemporary character and forward facing to become, in some cases, contenders for listed buildings of the future.
Clare Wright designed the framework of the workshops, basing them around person-centred learning and a 'hot topic' in a particular local authority District to an audience of planners and locally elected councillors. Each workshop was created in partnership with that Council's Conservation Officer and a member of the South East Regional Design Panel.
This hugely successful programme was adopted by the South East England Development Agency for its Design Champion's Club and was eventually taken to National level sponsored by CABE and Historic England, to be delivered by each of the Regional Architecture Centres and managed and monitored by Clare Wright.
See Library for the completed report https://cbwright.london/library
The robust workshop format and basic premises were further taken on board by the Dept. for Transport for their Manual for Streets programme. Clare Wright was invited to design the training programme.
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Company No. 7391971 (reg. in England & Wales).
Reg. Office 123 Marlborough Road, Gillingham, Kent ME7 5HD
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