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28th January 2021
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Work begins on BRE Refurbished House
Scottish building contractor Cruden Building & Renewals has started work last week on Refurbished House, one of 10 demonstration homes being built on the BRE Innovation Park @ Ravenscraig that will be used to shape future housing in the country. Using historical design information and traditional materials, the builders will recreate a full-scale 'four-in-a-block' typical Scottish apartment dwelling, of which there 265 thousand in the country and three million of a similar design in England.
This type of dwelling, where there are two flats on the ground floor and two on the first floor, is one of the worst performing apartment building types both thermally and acoustically in the UK.
Each of the four compartments of the dwelling will be refurbished employing different retrofit approaches and using different materials and technologies. The units will then be monitored over time to provide real performance data on energy efficiency and thermal comfort, indoor air quality, acoustic performance and cost. The embodied energy of the materials used in the retrofit will also be considered.
The project, which is being delivered by BRE Scotland, Edinburgh Napier University and Historic Scotland will enable a robust assessment to be made on the cost effectiveness of fabric upgrades for this building style, for walls, windows, roofs and services. The adopted methodology will also allow an upscaling approach to be developed which can be rolled out to multiple dwellings making them more energy efficient, less costly to run and with minimum carbon emissions.
BRE Scotland Director David Kelly says: "Scotland has a high level of fuel poverty, with approximately 25% of homes spending more than 10% of their total income on energy bills. This is a shocking and unacceptable situation and one which we aim to change with the host of new knowledge this project will generate. We are delighted to be working with Cruden Building & Renewals on this project. Its expertise and knowledge will be hugely valuable in informing the outcomes of this research."
Allan Callaghan, Managing Director of Cruden Building & Renewals, says: "We are pleased to be co-funding and developing the 'Refurbished' house at the BRE Innovation Park @ Ravenscraig. We have jointly created a unique project which will not only provide design, specification and cost data for retrofit installation, but allow post completion monitoring of performance.'
He added: 'Ultimately we hope to achieve a measure of cost effective improvements for Scotland's and the UK's existing housing stock that will improve the quality of people's lives, address the fuel poverty issue and reduce carbon emissions in line with Government targets."
The BRE Innovation Park @ Ravenscraig, launched in September 2012 by Cabinet Minister Alex Neil, showcases the future of Scottish construction. Featuring 10 full scale homes and buildings, the Park demonstrates indigenous designs, materials, techniques and technologies that will address the major challenges faced by the local and global built environment - not least the drive to reduce carbon emissions.
Inspired by the BRE Innovation Park in Watford- which pioneered zero carbon housing not only in the UK but around the world, the goal for the Innovation Park @ Ravenscraig is to have a similar impact in Scotland, creating growth opportunities for the construction sector and its supply chain at home and internationally.
The next phase of buildings to be completed on the Park this year include:
- The Applegreen Home - an offsite manufactured volumetric steel frame system house with integrated renewables manufactured by Applegreen Homes. The project has significant potential to deliver an affordable, high performance, high quality solution for the volume housing market.
- The Zero Waste Scotland House - a demonstration of how the latest principles in resource efficiency and waste reduction can be applied in house building. As well as facilitating sustainable living for occupants, the design of the house will ensure maximum recycling and re-use of products at its end of life.
- Homegrown Timber House - created by Anderson Bell and Christie Architects, in partnership with Forestry Commission Scotland, this house will showcase the use of innovative homegrown timber products to deliver an affordable, low embodied energy, healthy and thermally efficient dwelling. It will also explore key issues of developing in a denser, more 'street friendly' way in line with Scottish town character.
The Curriculum House - designed and constructed by pre- apprentice and apprentice students, this demonstration home will provide a live learning environment for Motherwell College's CADD, Architectural Design and Construction courses.
Once completed Ravenscraig will be home to over 10,000 people and is expected to create 12,000 jobs and attract in excess of £1.2 billion of private sector investment over the next 15 to 20 years.
Work is already underway on the £200 million first phase of the redevelopment of the 1,100 acre site, with a £30 million regional sports facility, a £70 million campus for Motherwell College and 850 new houses now under construction. Plans have also just been unveiled for the £600 million second phase of the development which will create a new town centre for Ravenscraig.
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21st June 2013