3 May 2023

Deep Retrofit

This residential project is an innovative look at renovation and retrofitting practices.

The brief was to renovate an unusual 1970s detached house, using Enerphit principles and standards: meaning lots of insulation, airtight construction, and on-site renewable energy. The client, themselves an environmental structural engineer, had a demanding brief with minimum demolition and maximum re-use of materials to maintain the existing embodied carbon in the house. We are also implementing passive heating and cooling techniques in line with the highest standards of Enerphit practice.

Our design makes extensive improvements to the house’s existing thermal performance; the original walls are retained, whilst being wrapped in a layer of natural insulation: cork at the 1st floor and cellulose elsewhere. We have also developed a system to re-use the stone slabbing from the property’s extensively paved garden as cladding on the ground floor: working to make as close to a zero-waste project as possible. Solar shading and deep reveals to the South & West facing elevations help mitigate against overheating. And new works are low carbon, natural materials. More info on the project page here.

Technical design with Allt Environmental