gcp architects

Meet The Team: Hazel

It’s been a while since we’ve added any new employee anniversaries and this week we have two to celebrate. First up is Hazel Momberg, celebrating one year with gcp.

Hazel joined gcp last year as an Architectural Technologist to support projects at tender and construction stages, manage project delivery, and assist the coordination across project teams.

In previous employment with GAPP Architects & Urban Designers as a Senior Architectural Technologist for six years, Hazel worked primarily within the hospitality sector, leading projects for luxury safari brands such as Singita and Helios Lodges Company Ltd.

Hazel has experience in all stages of an architectural project including and not limited to concept initiation, design development, construction documentation, site supervision and project management. More recently, Hazel has focused on the delivery of housing developments with particularly stringent deadlines, where precise and rigorous coordination across the project team is vital to meet client targets.

Hazel has completed an APS Accredited Principal Designer Course, allowing her to support all projects under the current CDM2015 Regulations. With a keen eye for detailing and passion for the built environment, Hazel has also recently qualified as a Chartered Architectural Technologist (MCIAT) with the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists (CIAT).

Morning Hazel! Lets start with an easy one: what inspired you to pursue architecture?

I grew up in a creative family, and because of this have always enjoyed drawing and making things. In school, I developed a passion for problem solving through subjects such as Maths, Science and Technology. Architecture allowed me to combine these two fields of interest into one career path. Designing creative solutions for complex problems is something that sparked my attention at the time, and still does today.

What has been your favourite project to work on at gcp, so far?

St Peters Close in Plymouth has been a very rewarding experience because it is the first project I’ll complete from start to finish in the UK. The development focuses on providing accessible accommodation to enable residents to stay in their homes even as their life needs change.

You have a visible enthusiasm for Architecture but if you weren’t an Architectural Technologist, what would you be?

I wouldn’t mind being a National Geographic Photographer in an exotic rainforest, pursuing the perfect shot of some endangered creature with David Attenborough by my side (big dreams).

Nothing wrong with dreaming a bright future. What have you already achieved that you are proud of?

Keeping my houseplants alive!

On a serious note though, taking the leap to leave my home country, South Africa, to work in the UK was challenging, but in turn a rewarding experience. It has allowed me to develop my passion for architecture in new ways as well as make valuable new friendships along the way.

We’re really pleased you came here. You are positive and grounded member of the team. What’s been your best moment working at gcp in the last year?

One of the best things about working at gcp is the great social environment amongst colleagues. It’s for this reason that I enjoyed the gcp weekend away in Devon where we made some unforgettable memories together.

gcp’s annual staff trip to Devon

Hazel now runs our Events Team, so expect more unforgettable socials in the future!

Moving away from work, what do you like to do in your spare time?

Nothing beats a good road trip to one of UK’s AONB for a long hike and some time spent in nature. Photography is a hobby of mine, so I’ll often take my camera along for the ride too.

To finish up, I normally ask interviewees to tell us something we might not already know about you?

I can play the piano and flute.

gcp are a musical bunch! Might there be an office band in our future?

Thanks for your time today Hazel, we love celebrating our staff anniversaries and getting to know people a little better. To finish up, is there anything else you would like to share?

My favourite quote: ‘The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.’ - Nelson Mandela

Perfect. Keep any eye out on our blog for more staff anniversaries, coming soon.

End of Year Wrap Up: 2022

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2022 has seen the “new normal” become the normal-normal, with hybrid working and remote meetings just a part of everyday life now. With bubble-working and office closures a thing of the past, the word of the year at gcp has been collaboration. We have really enjoyed being back in the office together, sharing stories and cakes at our Monday huddles and using our new whiteboard space for design workshops.

We started the year by offsetting carbon emissions: a frosty January day was spent planting trees with Avon Needs Trees. gcp are committed to tackling climate change both through our designs and our actions. We hope to build off this initial planting session by further developing our carbon tracking, reduction, reporting, and offsetting strategies to better understand how we can make a difference.

In February we celebrated national apprenticeship week, with architectural apprentice Owen Faunt. We are pleased to be supporting Owen through his Architectural Apprenticeship at South Bank University, London. We love discussing his projects and seeing his finished work and are incredibly proud of how far he’s come since his change of careers 3 years ago.

Part of his experience this year was the chance to work on The Ranch, Southmead, with DIY SOS. gcp helped with the overarching vision and Owen got the chance to put his amazing sketching skills to work.

Team challenges form the cornerstone of office morale here at gcp, and in March we split into team-bikes and team-books to see who could go the furthest – readers or cyclists. Team reading easily beat the cyclists, though with their many pub lunch cycles clocked up, who was the real winning team?!

In July, some of the staff, their partners and families took a relaxing weekend trip to Devon and in September we celebrated the company’s 30th birthday with our favorite memories and a huge cake.

2022 has seen a boom in recent sports project experience. gcp were proud to help bring a top class sporting facility to West London, with the completion of a fantastic cricket centre developed in conjunction with the Wilf Slack Trust, Middlesex Cricket and Willam Perkins School. We have some more exciting sports projects on the program for 2023!

Our long-running relationship with Curo continued this year, with Century Park a 128 unit scheme progressing well on site. This scheme has received great press and is a finalist in Bristol Property Awards, for Residential Development.

Alongside marking a continued relationship with Curo, we were pleased to be working with EG Carters, a partnership which has been ongoing for over 18 years. We have worked closely with the EG Carter team over the years to find practical development solutions for often tricky sites across the South West.

Our first project together (back in 2004!) was a small infill housing project in a dense urban neighbourhood in Bristol. Current projects include Rural Exception sites in Somerset and Wiltshire where we have worked closely with the E G Carter team, jointly negotiating our way through complex planning, land and environmental issues, to deliver needed affordable homes that are welcomed by the local community.

We celebrated with Acorn Property Group and Halsall the completion of Brooks Dye Works, a 113-home regeneration project in St Werburghs, Bristol.

Our initial contact with Acorn began when we supported Halsall Construction on the Otters Holt development in Ottery St Mary, a complex brownfield development in a conservation area. Acorn subsequently approached us to resolve planning conditions and provide technical design for their major project at the old Brooks Laundry in Bristol. Alongside architectural design we also provided energy assessments to meet Acorn's performance targets through our in-house energy consultancy.

Alongside our continued housing experience and exciting sports projects, we have been working on Retrofit in the Forest of Dean. At the CIH conference in September, Tom Mellor presented alongside Curtins, Two Rivers and Rider Levett Bucknall as part of the “Bristol Retrofit Collective” speaking to Demystify PAS2035. We will be running some further seminars on this subject in the New Year, so please get in touch if you’d like to get added to the list.

All in all, it’s been a busy year for gcp and we rounded it off with a lovely Christmas meal in Bristol last week. After a busy few months, it was lovely to gather around the table, enjoy good food and even better company and raise a glass to the success of our small team over the year.

We can’t wait to see what is in store for us and for you, in 2023.

Season’s greetings to all and wishing you a very happy New Year.

Meet the Team: Michael Hanson

Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea, Kensington Memorial Park Waterpark

There’s a really exciting employee anniversary this month – Senior Architect Michael Hanson celebrates 23 years at gcp. As part of the celebrations, we wanted to ask him a few questions about his time here.

As one of our longest serving team members, he has a wealth of experience in leisure, community, education, regeneration and social housing projects for a range of clients including local authorities, housing associations and commercial developers.

Michael has worked on a wide range of projects as lead architect, and also in a consultancy role as assessor and expert energy advisor.

For over 15 years, Michael has had particular interest in the issues of conservation and sustainable environmental design, he has undertaken research and energy modelling to help clients optimise design and construction specifications for low energy housing, including researching  renewable  technology  impacts  and  cost-benefits  for  clients  and  occupants.

Michael is an accredited SAP & EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) assessor.

As part of his interest in developing a deeper understanding of building physics and energy in buildings, in 2011 Michael completed an MSc in Environmental Design of Buildings at Cardiff University, achieving a distinction. This included research into the impacts of domestic retrofit measures, which was published in his dissertation; “The Risk and Reward of Implementing Zero Carbon Retrofit to UK Dwellings: Studies of Implemented Measures and Analysis of Outcomes.”

As a project lead, Michael has particular experience of running the construction stage of projects, involving the discharge of planning conditions, Building Regulation compliance and detailed design co-ordination. In recent years Michael has developed particular experience in works to existing buildings. This has included complex conversion and refurbishment of commercial buildings and residential low and high-rise buildings.

As part of this experience Michael has been responsible for consultation with existing occupiers and management of the complexities of working in occupied buildings and the close coordination this requires. His most recent projects continue this, but focus on whole building low energy retrofit and decarbonisation initiatives, delivering stepchanges in resident experience and energy demands.

Michael  has  completed  training  to  deliver  Principal  Designer  services  to  meet  the requirements of CDM 2015 Health & Safety Regulations.

** 

Well Michael, I think your experience speaks for itself. Let’s give our followers the chance to get to know you a bit better with a few quick-fire questions.

We’ll start with the easy one: what inspired you to pursue architecture?

Several aspects; my father was a carpenter, and he had a background of a long running multi-generational family business, in the model of general builder and funeral directors. Construction and buildings were a fact. When I was a child we’d investigate local sites if we came across one on a walk (before current levels of health & safety secured sites!) and I remember trying to piece together the part-finished buildings in my head. Additionally my secondary school art teacher was a good encouragement.  

Thanks for sharing that. If you weren’t an architect, what would you be?

Hmmm. Perhaps I would have pursued art – I did art to A-level, enjoyed painting in oils, mainly landscapes at that point. But essentially I gain joy in creating things – so I guess I would have ended up in some sort of creative endeavour.  

You’ve been here for such a long time, do you think you could narrow it down to your favourite project to work on at gcp?

There have been many really, I enjoy each one as they come along – and can get very focused in the detail. But Hengrove Leisure park was an early one, as well as work on the major parks in London for RBKC, particularly at Kensington Memorial Park, and then various community centre and old school site works. Always good to see the benefit for the client & users. There are others that I've enjoyed at concept stage which were never realised in the end – several schemes which would have had dramatic interventions for residents such as proposals for refurbishment of highrise towers in Exeter and Swindon, all unfortunately suffered the fate of local authority financial difficulties not pursuing project delivery.

And what’s been your best moment at gcp in the last year?

I would say some of our staff social events. Gathering again with colleagues and their families down in Devon at the start of this summer was a particular highlight.

Anything Else?

Staggered by way time flies. Time with gcp has been a blend of various different experiences – always with very good people.

Couldn’t agree more and with this anniversary marks the end of another calendar year. Where did 2022 go? Just a few final questions to finish up.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

There never seems to be much of it, but if it is just my time, then cycling and gardening bring satisfaction peace and joy.

When it is longer time with my family we like to get out and visit historic places, to explore or visit new places and do activities – we don’t do static holidays – the act of journeying is part of the experience.

What’s your proudest personal achievement?

My family - My daughters.            

Norfolk Coast, 2020

And to wrap up – my favourite questions to ask! - could tell us something we might not already know about you?

Hmm. Should that be I’m a quarter Italian?

È molto gentile da parte tua!

Narrowboat Steering, 2019

Thanks so much for your time today Michael. It really is a pleasure to celebrate our staff anniversaries and achievements and today was a particularly monumental one.  

We have an exciting month of Christmas fun coming up in December – keep an eye on our blog to see what we doing throughout the month to bring some festive joy to the office.

Farewell Catriona

Catriona joined gcp back in April for her in-practice-placement, an integral part of her Part 1 course at Bath Uni. Before she finished her placement, we asked her a few questions. Catriona was a great addition to the team and we wish her all the best on her next adventure and her summer in Zambia site managing the construction of sports facilities as part of the ACE2Zambia construction team!

What inspired you to study architecture?

My interest in architecture started when my mum was undergoing treatment for breast cancer at Ninewells Hospital so we spent a lot of time at Maggie’s Dundee. At this time at school we were doing a project where we had to choose a charity and do a presentation on it. My group chose Maggie’s Dundee as our charity so through this project I did a lot of research into Maggie Keswick Jenks and her interest in architecture and Frank Ghery the architect of the Maggie’s Dundee building. This sparked my interest in architecture, and I explored this interest through artwork before starting my degree at the University of Bath in 2019.  

Have you enjoyed your placement with gcp?

I have had a great time working at gcp I have enjoyed the variation of work I have been involved with through working on architecture projects as well as with the marketing team producing graphics. I have also enjoyed the additional site visits gcp have involved me in. These visits have allowed me to gain a knowledge of different construction techniques and detailing.  

How was it different to your expectations of being in a working studio?

I have worked in a practice before so I was familiar with how certain things work however it was a very different experience to my previous practice. I was very grateful for how open the directors were about how the business was run as this allowed me to understand a lot more about the in’s and out’s of an architecture practice.  

What’s your favourite thing that you’ve worked on during your time here?

I have enjoyed all the elements of my work at gcp but I particularly enjoyed one project I was involved with that looked to convert an old Victorian warehouse into houses. I was particularly interested in this project as the existing building had so much character, we worked really hard to retain whilst bringing new opportunities to the area. 

What do you like to do in your spare time?

I am part of the University of Bath Canoe Club and spend a lot of my free time involved in the club. I am regularly involved in pool and river sessions as well as white water trips and Canoe polo tournaments and of course socials.  

What does the future hold for you? What’s next for Catriona?

I am part of a group of 5 civil engineering and architecture students from the University of Bath who are going to Zambia over the summer to project manage the construction of a netball court. Once I leave gcp I have a month to finalise designs and sign the contracts before leaving for Zambia the beginning of July.

In September I will be going into my final year of my Part 1 degree and look forward to bringing the knowledge I have gained from my placement to my studio projects.

Employee Survey Results #mentalhealthawareness

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#mentalhealthawareness

Two years ago, as part of our mental health and wellbeing initiatives, gcp implemented an Employee Survey. This is the second year of our survey and we are delighted to have once again received 100% participation.

Using quality questions has enabled us to monitor trends year-on-year so that we can build a picture of how we are all doing and we will continue to do this going forward. We will run the survey annually to track changing trends, but are also investigating other forms of feedback, which can be given more regularly so there is less time between whole office check-ins.

We understand the limitations to a survey taken at a moment in time and have a number of other options in place for staff to access support where required.

Below, we have summarised some of the quality question responses and the next steps we are taking in each area.

At gcp, we are really keen on focus weeks, especially for Mental Health & Wellbeing and use them as a time to reflect on progress to date and to put plans in place for the next period.

There is an awareness of mental health at gcp & this is talked about openly

Next Steps:

  • Set up a mental health task group

  • Finalise and publish our new wellbeing & mental health policy

  • Events Group to form a program of inclusive events

I feel confident that I can open up about mental health issues at work

Next Steps:

  • Investigate ways to receive feedback more regularly

  • Monitor the wellbeing and mental health of staff annually via anonymous survey

  • Keep mental health at the forefront of one-to-ones and reviews. Put wellbeing action plans into place for anyone who wants to

  • Keep to one-to-one schedule (these are informal chats with directors, outside of the review system, when any issues or concerns can be raised or feedback given)

  • Offer alternative ways to get support (via our private medical insurance or Mind)

I am aware of the support available to me at work with regards to mental health

Next Steps:

  • Clarify support available

  • Devise a plan for regular updates / training on mental health and support

Other:

A Message from Jeremy Pilling

I am standing down as a director and shareholder of gcp Chartered Architects as from 1 March 2022 as planned.

Having held those posts since 1994 and having been a partner of the original practice since 1987, I am undoubtedly doing so with mixed emotions.  Obviously, on the one hand I will be able to devote more time to pursue interests outside work but on the other I will miss day to day involvement with clients, consultants and colleagues.

I will continue to support the current directors on a consultancy basis for two days a week in any way I can but also hope that I will be able to develop a few new and some existing enquiries into viable projects to hand on to what is a very strong and multi-talented in-house team.

I regard the business becoming Employee Owned in August 2020 as one of our most significant achievements and wish the current directors Jon Briscoe and Tom Mellor all the very best for their future at the helm and Jon Platt for his next task over the next year or so to hand over the reigns as the director responsible for new business.

Despite the significant challenges posed by both Brexit and the pandemic over the last couple of years, I am confident that I am leaving the business in good health and in good hands.

Finally, I would like to thank all those I have worked with over the last thirty five years. Although at times it has felt like a huge responsibility It has also been a privilege and I am very proud of what we have achieved together.

Jeremy Pilling

03/03/2022

A momentous day for gcp

It is a momentous day in the history of gcp chartered architects. Today is founding partner Jeremy Pilling’s last day of full time employment with the company. This marks the next step for gcp chartered architects as an employee owned trust. The current directors, Jon Briscoe, Tom Mellor and Jonathan Platt are looking forward to an exciting future with a talented and dynamic team.

Everyone at gcp chartered architects thanks Jeremy for his unstinting efforts during nearly 35 years at the helm, and look forward to working with him as a consultant in the coming years.

A few selected images from over the years

Work Life Week 2021: Using National Awareness Days to Evaluate Our Progress

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At gcp, supporting mental health has always been at the core of devising sustainable working practices. We have long had family-friendly working policies in place and support flexible working requests for a variety of reasons from caring responsibilities to personal development, knowing that there is no “one size fits all” solution to improving work/life balance.

For the last few years we have used Work Life Week to evaluate our progress, celebrate achievements in this area and set targets for the following year. In a busy, hybrid working environment, it is helpful to use National Awareness days and weeks as a way for the whole team to think about and discuss our mental health at the same time.

In 2019 we held a mindfulness and creativity week, where we took some time out to be creative together. This was a great opportunity to have fun, take a break from our screens and chat with members of the team we might not work with on a day-to-day basis.

In the midst of a pandemic, Work Life Week saw a change of focus to physical activity breaks: we set ourselves a 1,000,000 step challenge for the week and encouraged everyone to take time off from their screens to get some fresh air. Working virtually, we also held coffee mornings as an opportunity for some chit-chat amongst the increasingly work-focused Teams meetings.

It is important to highlight that these weeks aren’t just one-off events, but something gcp are keen to continue to improve on. In the past year, we have signed up to Thrive at Work West of England and have embarked on a two year commitment to improve and evaluate our working procedures in a way that puts keeping our team mentally healthy at the core of what we do.

One year into this commitment  we have made some subtle shifts in established working practices to support mental health, wellbeing and balance. At the beginning of 2021 we introduced private health insurance for everyone, to provide easy access to medical support for physical and mental health issues.

Long supporters of Mind, all members of the Senior Management Team have already completed Mental Health Awareness Training for Managers in 2021. This training will be provided to the rest of the office during 2021s’ Work Life Week.

This year we also ran an Employee Satisfaction Questionnaire to let us know what we are doing well already and what we need to improve, on an individual and organisational level. This will now become an annual undertaking, with benchmarking questions used to track trends amongst our team. As a result of this survey, we have:

  • Put mental health at the forefront of one-to-ones and reviews

  • Committed to putting wellbeing plans into place for anyone who needs it

  • Reinforced our one-to-one chats, now scheduled every 6 weeks (these are informal chats with directors outside of the formal review system, when any issues or concerns can be raised or feedback given)

  • Checked in on the wellbeing and mental health of staff via an anonymous survey

  • Arranged mental health awareness training for the Senior Management Team

  • Collaboratively planned for return to the office / bubble mixing

  • Attended a RIBA CPD Wellbeing session, with action points fed back to the wider team

  • Encouraged coffee breaks Tuesday & Thursday @10.30 for drop in (online – or in office for those in an office-based bubble)

  • Empowered staff to set up challenges, breakout rooms, coffee breaks, informal meetings as and when they need / want them

To follow, we will in the next 6 months:

  • Arrange mental health awareness training for the whole team

  • Devise a wellbeing & mental health policy, using our survey results, research and findings from year 1

  • Run the annual Employee Satisfaction Survey & report on trends / actions to wider team

  • Undertake a review of our appraisal system

Our Events Team will:

  • Define a place to play games, do puzzles, sketch at lunch (when closer contact is permitted)

  • Plan architectural/cultural day trips

  • Plan lunchtime events: games, exercise, Lego, pub – a mix of events to appeal to a wide audience

It is fair to say that the pandemic has highlighted both the positives and the challenges of virtual working and so this year for Work Life Week, we have changed the focus towards discussions about what sort of working environment we want to create as we move towards 2022.

gcp became employee owned in 2020 and now more than ever the wellbeing of our colleagues is central to us being a successful business. In Work Life Week 2021 we will be having daily discussions around the following:

Flexibility:

What does flexibility mean to me?

How does it impact my colleagues?

Mental health:

What can I do to help my mental health?

What can gcp do to help my mental health?

Practicality:

How do we see the new flexible and hybrid system working?

Creative and collaboration:

How do we see creative and collaborative design working in the new flexible and hybrid system?

Burn-out:

What is the best way to avoid burn-out? How do I work best?

For this week and beyond gcp continues to place employee wellbeing and keeping our team mentally healthy at the core of our company values.

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Planning Granted for a modest residential development in Blackhorse Place

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 A planning application has been granted by South Glos Council for a small development of 3 bespoke homes on Blackhorse Place, Vinney Green. What was initially seen as a relatively uncontentious and modest development for 3 new homes, actually required a relatively complex planning application and multiple design iterations.

gcp conceived and developed a pre-application followed by the planning design. Particular attention was paid to the immediate context, neighbours’ concerns, a sustainable urban drainage system, site ecology and sustainable transportation.

The team constantly developed the design, in close liaison with all parties and proactively managed the planning process, negotiating directing with the planning team. Ultimately, delivering a planning approval for a design which both met the client’s aspirations and was acceptable to the local authority.

New Homes for People in Pill

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Chapel Pill | Image prepared for Community Consultation

Chapel Pill | Image prepared for Community Consultation

A planning application has been submitted by gcp Chartered Architects on behalf of Pill & District Community Land Trust in partnership with Alliance Homes. We really enjoy the satisfaction of helping to realise the objectives of local community leaders, whose knowledge and passion for their local area is so instrumental in creating opportunities for affordable homes for local people. The site at Chapel Pill is in a sensitive location, on a steeply sloping site on the edge of the settlement. Achieving practical access for both cars and pedestrians, minimising visual impact, and enhancing natural habitats have been very real concerns. Opinion was split between those who opposed the development due to concern over impact on a sensitive green-belt location, and supporters who see the need for affordable houses in a community where it is increasingly difficult for local people to afford their own home. 

 

The project team have put a great deal of effort into understanding the context and constraints of the site and developing a solution to address these issues.  gcp’s design response creates a group of 14 high quality homes that are compact in form to minimise impact on the green belt, sensitively landscaped to bring biodiversity enhancements, and provide affordable homes with very low energy bills.

Building your house to Passivhaus standard: an interview with our client

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“Our energy bills have dropped by about 70% from the old house that was on site.”
— Client, Homelands Passivhaus, Dundry

gcp Chartered Architects were appointed by a private client to create a flexible 3-bedroom home to be certified to the Passivhaus performance standard. We have recently interviewed our client Roy and we are excited to share his experience below.

Hello Roy, I would like to thank you for taking the time to share your experience as a Passivhaus owner and answer our questions. I am sure most people would wonder when did you find out about Passivhaus and how did you decide that you would like to live in one.

Our main driver was to have a house that had the lowest possible running costs. We recognised this was going to mean some more investments upfront, but we were trying to think about the lifetime of the house, recognising it would outlive us. (A concept that was introduced to us when we attended a Passivhaus open day: a building should be designed to outlive its current owners!)

We were already familiar with the concept of Passivhaus as our friends in Switzerland live in a very airtight, super insulated house supported by an MVHR system. Triple glazing and several other features often seen in a Passivhaus design are commonplace in new builds in several parts of Europe and Scandinavia. So, although their house was not formally certified, it is a Passivhaus in all but name! It helped us to see some of the benefits first-hand and to consider the maintenance of running a Passivhaus, which was important to us, we did not want to build a house that was too complex to understand or live in.

Once the route of Passivhaus was decided, we went about gaining as much information as we could, visiting two other houses through the Passivhaus open days. We are hoping to support this going forward as it really helped us to see how Passivhaus would work in the UK.  I also read ‘The Passivhaus Handbook’ and pretty much everything else I could find on the internet to help us understand the choices we were making.

Once we had decided on the ICF system, I actually went and laboured on a couple of other house builds when they did their ‘pour days’ as you tend to need a few extra hands-on-deck during this part of the process. This was arranged through the local Nudura representative, the ‘pour days’ are when you fill the void created by the ICF with concrete – and lots of it. The main thing this taught me was not to underestimate the benefits of good preparation and having the site ready….and allow enough time to double check everything is really ready for the pour!

Homelands_1.jpg

Having reviewed the information you have shared in your blog, I understand that you have been actively involved in building your house. Was this an easy process? Would you like to share an insight to your experience?

Easy? No. Worth it? Absolutely!

I always knew I wanted to be hands-on and do more than ‘project managing’ and I am very lucky to have a brother who was able to take a break from his own business to come and live on site to help.  I say help, he brought the skilled labour to the build!

We did over 90% of the work ourselves, having only a couple of trades in over the whole project. This meant that I was aware of all the decisions that needed to be made and the interdependencies of certain stages. We drove the schedule for the work, so we set the pace.

Being hands on allowed me to really shop around for materials well in advance to get the best prices on everything that we could. The saving we had on some of the most basic building materials was massive, from big one-off items down to non-specialist products like screws and silicone.

My brother, Mark, is a carpenter by trade and so the ICF system was a perfect fit. Many of the worries of things like getting the corners square for the foundations were taken away as these came pre-formed from Isoquick for the insulated slab and from Nudura for the ICF system. So with the regular use of a laser level (well worth the investment to buy one rather than rent) and a trusty spirit level the walls went up quickly, true and square.

There was only one sleepless night, at the start of project, the night before the pour of the foundations into the insulated slab! I had done all the estimations for the concrete myself, having never done anything of this scale before.  It was the equivalent of 6 concrete wagons and I just hoped I’d ordered enough but not too much! Luckily, it turned out to be pretty much spot on.

Some of the more physically demanding work was the dry-stone render on the bottom half of the house. It took the two of us 6 months to do but we think the results are amazing and worth all the hard work.  

Living on site in the remaining half of the old bungalow really helped save money and time. It meant we knew the site was secure and we were never caught out with an early delivery or left hanging around at the end of a day. Also, in the evenings when I was ordering materials, I could pop back into the site to double check dimensions if I needed to. There was no commute in the morning, or at lunch time and on days when things were going well it was easy to keep going.

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How has living in a Passivhaus standard dwelling affected the quality of your life? Have you experienced a significant reduction in your energy bills?

To be honest it is very much what we were expecting – but I think that is because we had done a lot of research. A real positive is living in a house that is draft-free, it is hard to describe what it’s like to open a window and nothing happening. If we want to get the outside air in, on say a lovely sunny day, you need to open two windows otherwise nothing happens! It is a very strange experience.

We live close to Bristol Airport and have noticed less noise from the planes. We were worried the metal roof would have been noisy when it rained, especially with a vaulted ceiling inside, but it’s so well insulated, it has not been a problem.

Our energy bills have dropped by about 70% from the old house that was on site. Having 4.5KW of solar PV panels on the roof has significantly reduced our electricity use. We have also made some other adjustments of how we live to maximise the use of the PV when we are generated, like putting the dishwasher on in the morning rather than after dinner and doing an extra load of washing on sunny days.

Our hot water from March to October is heated by the PV panels and the house requires no heating over this period, so that is a great time of year for us. For the winter months, we have a log burner in the garage that heats a large thermal mass which tops-up the remaining hot water and heat requirements. We light the log burner once every 5 days, but this depends on the weather. When we have sunny winter days the windows on the south side of the house provide some amazing heat gain and the PV panels will also generate.

The other bill that we have seen drop has been our water bill. We decided to invest in a rainwater harvesting system and bury a 3,000-litre tank below ground. This tank serves the toilets and washing machine. It was a big upfront investment, but we felt it was easier to do from the start when we already had diggers on site than to try to retrofit in the future. Currently we are estimating about a 50% saving on our water usage.

Condensation was a real issue in our old house having to use the “window vac” every morning to clear the glass on the inside. Now we have a different condensation issue, in certain weather conditions it is on the outside as the glazing is so well insulated.

Another area where we have noticed a difference is in the bathrooms. Its lovely not having extractor fans running all the time to clear the steam and there is no mould build up, even on an internal bathroom. The MVHR monitors the moisture in the air as it extracts and just boosts the ventilation as and when required. This means all the condensations in the bathroom clears a lot quicker.

It is amazing to have a large open plan living, dining and kitchen area upstairs, which is always warm. To have such a large space warm all the time has been fantastic. Slightly cooler bedrooms downstairs is also a benefit of having ‘flipped’ our house from a traditional layout.

We are also able to confirm that MVHR units are not noisy, ours is located in a cupboard in the middle of the house and we do not hear it. Do not be put off by MVHR units, when fitted right, without tight bends in the ventilation pipe and when well supported and fixed, they make no noise at all.

A slightly strange benefit of such a well insulated house is that the large windows aren’t cold spots, so you have an even temperature throughout which means you can fully utilise the space.

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What do your friends and family think about your new home?

HAHA, usually shocked that we have actually done it!

No one can believe that we have our thermostat set to 21 and yet have reduced our bills.

Most of our friends and neighbours are stunned by all the stonework. We essentially built our house on bedrock so all the stone came out of the ground when we were digging the foundations, it would have been a shame to have not utilised it. It is a fascinating stone and changes colour in different lights, some days the house almost glows.

We have inspired at least one friend (that we know of) to want to live in a Passivhaus of their own one day. The most common question we get from friends who have experienced the Passivhaus for themselves is to ask why we aren’t building all houses like this. This is a very good question!

The only drawback we have discovered of the Passivhaus is that fresh cut flowers brought by visitors don’t last very long as the house is too warm. We have however found that blubs and other plants live very happily, and the warm house is great for germinating seeds on the window ledge! 

Having successfully completed this project, I am wondering whether you are planning to get involved into any other similar projects in the future?

Not just yet! While we have successfully gained Passivhaus certification and finished the house, there are a few more jobs in the garden to do before I can move onto something else. Covid has made sourcing materials very difficult and added some delays on these jobs, but once these are done, I will need to think about the next challenge. Either I will hunt out the next adventure or it will find me! 

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Last but not least, what advice would you give to someone who is considering building their house to meet the Passivhaus standard?

Over this journey we have gained loads of experience, some of which is specific to Passivhaus and some which is just general advice to self-builders.

  • For anyone wanting to build to Passivhaus standard, educating yourself before you start is critical, there is so much knowledge out there. The more information you know about the products on the market the easier it is to solve problems you encounter on route, for example understanding there are different (sticky) tapes for different jobs and who knew that ‘airtight expanding foam’ was a thing.

  • Airtightness should be considered at all points during the building process, you have to carefully plan each penetration of the Passivhaus envelope to know which products you are going to use to seal the holes you’ve just made. Getting an air-tightness test as soon as you have a dry Passivhaus envelop was something Colin recommended, and I could not agree more. It enabled us to find any points which were leaking and do remedial work to get the structure right before fitting the plaster board.

  • When using the IFC system, make sure you put in enough service ducting before pouring the concrete. It would have been really hard to drill through reinforced concrete. Having planned our service ducting, we were able to get services in easy, we even built in some redundancy and have a few spare for the future!

  • Talk to manufactures of Passivhaus products, their technical departments have been very happy to help and they usually want to make their products perform at their best. They generally got very excited to hear that we were building a full Passivhaus so often went out of their way to help. The Zehnder (MVHR) technical department have been very helpful with software updates and very patient when we have queries.

  • Another benefit of building to Passivhaus standard it that it really does stop you compromising on route. Along the journey it would have been very easy to have compromised and bought building materials which were ‘almost’ the same as the branded product, even though the U value was not quite right for Passivhaus standard. Or to swap out materials when they were not in stock. Having a clear goal of the standard you want to achieve really does stop you from compromising, but we have ended up with a warm home as a result.

Now moving on to the more general stuff for anyone who is considering building their own home.

  • At the start it was really important to consider how we wanted to live in the space and to challenge ourselves to not just replicate how you live today. We found marking out some of the early floor plans in full size, in a car park really helped us visualise and understand our future home and how much space we needed. We challenged everything to really make sure we didn’t live to regret some poor planning decisions. An example of this is where to put the washing machine, usually this goes in a kitchen or a utility room, but neither are near the laundry basket nor where you store clean clothes. The lack of radiators also meant traditional ways of drying clothes had to be reconsidered. Our machine now lives in a purpose-built cupboard under the stairs which also functions as our drying cupboard, neatly tucked behind a door out of sight.

  • From the start we considered how we would clean and maintain the property. We have gone for wall hung toilets to make cleaning easier and wooden floors which are quick to clean.

  • Having a brother who has done a lot of building maintenance in a previous job means he wanted us to have pipe rod points accessible under cupboards in case the pipes ever get blocked. We also have isolation valves on all taps rather than service valves, so if something happens you are not trying to find a screwdriver to turn off the water. On a less dramatic scale it means we can also confidently turn off the water to change the washer on a tap.

  • Living on site during the building process, meant planning and considering the lighting has been much easier. We have been able to come in at different times in the morning and evening and get a feel for the natural light. The lighting in the kitchen was something we manufactured ourselves as we were unable to find anything on the market that did what we wanted. We wanted both bright task lighting but also a warmer upplight. A friendly lighting rep brought us some samples so that we could play with different lighting effects.

  • When using LED lights, we considered where the drivers would be located when laying out the electrics, so they could be changed easily. The bathroom lights have the drivers in the machine room above, so they are easy to change in the future.

  • Really planning the electrics is again critical, we made a few unusual choices but are so pleased that we did. We realised that we would often sit at the dinner table with a laptop and did not want trailing leads to the wall so fitted a floor socket that we now use almost daily! We also fitted shaver points inside the bathroom cupboards for charging toothbrushes out of sight. The wardrobes and kitchen cupboards also have power points, which are really handy.

  • Early in the design stage we sat with Colin and worked out how to build in storage. Having an upside-down house means we do not have a loft space to hide things in, so we had to think differently. We have a lot of built-in storage with a large space under the stairs and large larder cupboards in the kitchen. In the porch we created a good-sized area for storing shoes and coats, so that these didn’t even need to come inside the actual house! The mirrors in our bathrooms hide yet more storage. For more outdoor stuff and gardening things we have a large undercroft under the garage. This was not part of the original plan, but once we discovered it was an option we jumped at the chance. It is also a prefect consistent temperature for storing our crop of pumpkins!

“We have inspired at least one friend to want to live in a Passivhaus of their own one day. The most common question we get from friends who have experienced the Passivhaus for themselves is to why we aren’t building all houses like this. This is a very good question! ”
— Client, Homelands Passivhaus, Dundry

2020 Favourites: The Paddock, Vinney Green

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“What I’ve enjoyed most about working on this small, bespoke residential development is that I’ve been able to have a significant design input at a very early stage of my career. For me, this is a reflection of how gcp value opinions and inputs from all those involved in the design process. It’s commonplace to shout buzzwords like co-creation or collaboration but to actually live and breath collaborative design is really rather rare”
— Owen Faunt, gcp
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We asked everyone in the office to name their favourite project of 2020. This was Owen’s.

2020 Favourites: Malvern

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“We were appointed to support the delivery of 14 homes, located next to several Grade II listed buildings. What seemed like a straightforward project, turned out to be quite challenging with a long process of selecting appropriate materials, detailing complex junctions and delays on site due to weather conditions then Covid-19. Despite the many challenges faced, this was a fantastic learning opportunity for me as it was the first project I have lead at construction stage (with fantastic support from 2 others at gcp). I enjoyed attending site meetings and seeing the progress each time I visited site. CTS have been great to work with and have built fantastic, high quality homes”
— Esther Brown, gcp
Photo credit: Zest Home Staging for Broadway Herritage

Photo credit: Zest Home Staging for Broadway Herritage

We asked everyone in the office to name their favourite project of 2020. Esther chose the completion of 14 dwelling residential scheme in Malvern.

2020 Favourites: Trinity Digs

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“Working on behalf of Trinity Community Arts, gcp secured planning consent to carry out capital improvements so that the site can host and support more community activities. The proposals, developed and approved following several months of consultations with key stakeholders, will see customised timber clad containers installed on site, to provide affordable, low-cost, sustainable hot-desk space as a base for community partners, emerging artists and local start-ups. The Digs project has minimal impact on the historic setting of the listed building and aims to release space in the exiting building for additional programme related activities, therefore has the real potential to consolidate the long-term financial resilience of the centre”
— Olia Kyritsi, gcp
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We asked everyone in the office to name their favourite project of 2020. Olia has chosen Trinity Digs, a scheme for affordable office space for the community which was granted planning late last year for Trinity Community Arts.