Enerphit House
This project, in a residential suburb of Edinburgh, is an innovative look at renovation and retrofitting practices.
The brief was to renovate and upgrade 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. Internal finishes in timber and clay plaster; all external timber is either protected by an overhang or uses a hardwood timber to extend its design life to 100 years.
We are also, importantly improving the aesthetics of the house – making a beautiful house! Planning granted late 2022, building warrant application in progress.
Client and technical design Allt Environmental
- Location: Edinburgh