Award Winner: Star Ground Phase 2

One year on from handing over the keys, Stonewater have shared some exciting news.

Star Ground Phase 2 won Product innovation of the year – construction and Collaboration of the year – innovation at the Unlock Net Zero Awards for the integration of Wondrwall’s innovative all electric energy system alongside Passivhaus design principles.

Wondrwall incorporate solar PV energy generation alongside air source heat pumps, battery storage, and all electric heating to create energy efficient homes which are cheap to run. These systems coupled with the fabric first approach of Passivhaus lead to low bills and lower emissions.

After one year of occupancy, the average running cost was £857. 46% less than the SAP prediction, and 51% less than the average UK home.

The carbon savings were even more impressive, with an average annual carbon footprint of 357kg, compared with a SAP prediction of 829kg and a UK average of 2,914kg. This equates to an 88% reduction in CO2 emissions.

With the Future Homes Standard looking to encourage all electric dwellings, we will take our learnings from this project forward into our future designs.

Construction Life Cycle Assessment Specialists

Since the release of the RICS professional statement on whole life carbon assessments in 2017 there has been a sea of activity across the construction sector to define best practice for low carbon buildings through publications such as the RIBA Climate Challenge 2030 or the LETI Climate Emergency Design Guide. Climate targets have led to legislative change through planning policy in some areas including Greater London, B&NES and Cornwall, however despite the plethora of targets and policies, there has been very little by way of certification for assessors.

Certification is important as it sets a common standard for the quality of assessments which should lead to better data capture and analysis across the sector and improve the validity of future targets.

gcp have undertaken whole life carbon assessments since 2020. Initially working from first principals and undertaking our own calculations, but quickly progressing to the OneClick LCA software which contains a much broader database of materials. In April 2023 we became certified as Construction Life Cycle Assessment Specialists by OneClick LCA which allows us to generate whole life carbon calculations with the confidence that we are providing the best and most valuable service to our clients.

If you would like to find out more about the low carbon design and assessment services we offer, please contact matt.bonney@gcparch.co.uk.

Another Energy Efficient Home

We hope to get this lovely new home in Eynsham started up on site in the coming months! It is the latest in a series of private energy efficient homes which gcp has been creating for some very happy clients, thanks to the expertise of our qualified PassivHaus Designer Colin Powell. 

The home is designed to be flexible to ensure the residents can enjoy it for many years to come, even as their needs change. To ensure high thermal performance, the house will be built using an Insulated Concrete Formwork system which we have used before at Church Road and Dundry. Keep your eyes peeled for site progress photos in the coming  year!