FKDA, an architectural practice based in Manchester, have developed a modular house system that not only provides a wide variety of home options, but can form entirely bespoke solutions using the same design principles, environmental systems, architecture details, component and specification.
Designed for Living
Designed with choice in mind, our eco-home for the future provides a unique opportunity for the home to be tailored to an individual or family’s lifestyle and environment. The house aims to address what today's home buyers want, to reflect the attitudes and decision making among consumers.
There are three versions of the house, the standard modular design, a larger 3 storey family home, and a single-storey house ideal for the elderly or disabled.
Although the house can potentially achieve Level 6 of The Code for Sustainable Homes ("Zero Carbon"), we don't believe in imposing lifestyle changes in order for people to live sustainably. The basic house will therefore meet Level 3 criteria (25% more energy efficient than the current Building Regulations requirement), and the home owner can then improve the buildings energy performance to meet with their own demand or budget.
We believe in providing simple good quality spaces for living, that can easily be modified as required.
One of the key factors for the design and specification of our Zero Carbon home has always been to ensure the technology and the environmental systems are hidden, and the focus is on the quality of the living space and storage. What isn't hidden is the ability to see and control energy consumption and the water supply, an important aspect of living sustainably.
It is a modern design, and with a wide variety of external materials on offer, it will sit comfortably in any urban or rural setting.
Similar to the new Mini car, which appeals to all generations, house buyers can choose from a selection of prefabricated options to suit their living requirements. At a later date different elements of the house can be replaced, added or removed, promoting a changeable and evolving place for living. Our eco home can respond to the flux of family life and grow with the family.
Built within the "service" wall as standard are a large number of conduits that allow for full cable management; ample electrical, telephone, aerial, hi-fi and data sockets are provided to all rooms in the house.
Our design will allow the house to be easily adapted to meet all the Lifetime Homes standards.
Environmentally Responsible
Recognising that site conditions change, acknowledging that personal preferences differ, we have developed a range of systems that allows for different configurations of systems working together, with each option achieving a Zero Carbon Home.
Our strategy favours a balance of active environmental technologies and passive ones that vary depending on site and orientation. As a direct result our home is environmentally adaptive to its location. It features the choice between different environmental system configurations, each working together to achieve Zero Carbon performance.
The design, construction and choice of materials are relatively conventional, techniques that can easily be embraced by the current building industry. We've focused on simple but extremely effective techniques to maximise the thermal efficiency of the house, such as thermal mass, super insulation and passive solar design.
Built to achieve a Zero Carbon footprint, our homes embody an environmental strategy to which technologies are key. Firstly energy demand is reduced, secondly energy needs are met on site, and thirdly resources are used responsibly, both in construction and in day-to-day performance.
Although some renewable energy components can be positioned on the roof of the house, most of the energy systems are located at the end of the garden in what we have called an “eco-hub”. Rather than relying on bolting on a mass of solar panels or wind turbines to the house itself, which depending on the orientation of the house may not be most efficiently positioned, we’ve centralised them within a shared community space. People can interact, neighbours can chat, children can play; all in a safe and secure and very unique green technological environment.
As the budget to build a Zero Carbon house is sometimes not available, our homes can be built to achieve Level 3 or 4 of the Code for Sustainable Homes, and can be later modified to reach Level 6 ("Zero Carbon").
The roof, landscape and drainage design also takes into account Sustainable Drainage Systems (SUDS), to provide an alternative approach to minimise localised flooding and water pollution.
The Healthy Home
We also want to ensure the living environment is a healthy environment. Our heating and ventilation systems and the materials and finishes throughout the house promote healthy living. We research finishes and treatments (such as wood preservatives, adhesives, flame retardants etc) and determine whether there are any VOC's (Volatile Organic Compounds) or other substances that can off-gas into the home.
Where possible we'll only specify internal finishes that meet the Allergy UK's Seal of Approval, that assess products which restrict, reduce or remove allergens from the environment of the allergy sufferer.
This is an attempt to reduce Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS), which been described as the 21st Century disease. Pollution, chemical fumes given off by modern furnishing such as carpets, MDF furniture, paints and wood treatment can trigger severe reaction. Although the mechanism of MCS is not fully understood, there are certain features common to most sufferers. It tends to occur in people with a tendency to allergies i.e. eczema or asthma or if allergies run in the family.
We're also testing how the air-tightness of the building fabric (required to meet Building Regulations) affects the quality of the air inside.
The amount of natural day lighting and quality of the artificial lighting also has an effect on the home occupiers well being.
Other important aspects of the home design include the sense of enclosure, the sense of privacy, access to window views, connection to nature, sensory variety, and personal control over environmental conditions.
Affordable and Adaptable
The current shortfall of affordable housing in the UK has been one of the key issues we hope our homes can help to address.
The layout, and therefore the construction of the house is relatively simple. This not only keeps the cost of construction down but also allows for greater flexibility and a wide range of different designs and layouts. There are a large number of different options that can be chosen, from the number of bedrooms on a single level, to the inclusion of roof-lights or a full height living wall along the entire length of the house.
The design promotes the idea of a "lifestyle home" where people generally want more living space. Whilst the density and cost of housing is extremely important, we believe that through careful design, a house should provide as much floor area as possible and therefore the footprint and total build cost are more appropriate issues to consider than the gross internal floor area.
The gable wall pinches in at the position of the staircase and splays out to maximise the living space. The angled wall also increases the exposed surface area of the thermal mass for passive solar collection.
The house has also been designed to be a single storey to five storeys in height, which can be added to over time.
Delivering Quality
Unfortunately it is becoming evident that today's house builders are potentially repeating the same mistakes as those made in the 1960s when quantity was pursued at the expense of quality. We're not only concerned with the quality of the design of our homes, but also the quality of the components and workmanship.
For the construction, we're proposing a combination of high quality precast structural concrete panels (to maximise the open plan design and provide an effective thermal mass) with highly insulated timber frame infill panels (for flexibility and adaptability). All materials, including the concrete, would be carefully selected to minimise environmental impact throughout the supply chain.
Architect designed, detailed and specified, each element of the house has been carefully considered and has been chosen for its suitability, sustainability and durability; the design is not solely driven by cost.
Supporting Communities
We understand that the quality of the public realm is as important as the quality of the houses that make up a community. We will always promote the importance of the provision of well-designed and well-maintained public spaces as an intrinsic part of creating decent homes.
Our “eco-hub” concept is an ideal solution to efficiently grouping sustainable technologies, which could be shared and easily increased over time, and would be a common link for neighbours. With careful landscape design and the inclusion of street furniture, these secure spaces could be vibrant, social centres in the community.
We’re also keen to create homes that are sufficiently adaptable to enable home working as it benefits communities by keeping neighbourhoods active during the day, reducing travel demands and sustaining economic activity within neighbourhoods by extending employment opportunities to vulnerable groups.
Options
The full extent of the standard options available will be added to the website soon.
The main construction of the eco house uses precast concrete panels to provide thermal mass, control quality, minimise waste, eliminate wet trades, and dramatically increase speed of construction. Our standard house design can potentially be built within 6 weeks.
Alternatively, timber frame construction can be chosen.
We are also able to provide bespoke solutions using the same architectural principles we have developed in creating the modular houses. These should be considered where there are difficult site constraints, specific planning demands or simply the desire to have a completely individual design.
We would treat these projects with the same approach as any other bespoke architectural project in our practice, but with the advantage of utilising the existing knowledge we have of creating homes that are built to the highest standard, both in terms of design and environmental impact.
The house is also suitable for self build projects.
SHEDS FOR LIVING... We have also developed an alternative low cost housing solution, our "dwelle.ings". Please click here to visit our website for further details...
Specification details to be added shortly...
Company Profile
The home:works design has been created by dwelle, an architectural / design practice based in Manchester (RIBA Chartered).
The practice is design led and aims to achieve beautifully detailed projects of the highest standards by employing simplicity and sensitivity. We place a strong emphasis on the creative use of building materials, the qualities of light and the relationship between building and context, considering these issues to be of primary importance, as opposed to adopting a prescribed style and response. Ultimately our aim is for each project to reflect an informed and original interpretation of the client, site, brief and budget.
Developing a protoype for a standard sustainable house has challenged our ethos for personal and site specific architecture. It has therefore led to us create a structure that can be customised throughout the lifespan of the building. The basic design can be adapted and refined.
This practice does not specialise in particular building types. We strive on the diversity of the projects we have undertaken and continue to be involved with; from school projects, community buildings, housing, private residential houses to small scale office developments.
For each project, irrespective of its size, we develop strong working relationships with the client, other consultants and the building contractor.
Contact
| info@dwelle.co.uk | |
| telephone | 0161 237 1500 |
| address | c/o Dwelle Limited, 12 Hilton Street, Manchester, M1 1JF (view map) |
| or complete the form below. |