Jade Tilley
Posted: Tuesday, June 22, 2010 12:27 pm

 Mark Siddall of Devereux Architects talks to Architects Choice about the PassivHaus Scheme and the future of less conventional buildings.

Devereux Architects are currently working with Gentoo on a 28-unit bungalow scheme in Houghton-le-Spring, adopting the PassivHaus standard to its structure. This is believed to be the first PassivHaus scheme of this scale in the UK.

A progressive, design-orientated practice, Devereux Architects, a member of the international project delivery PM Group, merged in 2009 with Dewjo'c Architects, a renowned architectural practice in North East England.  By strategically increasing its range of architectural services and geographical spread, Devereux Architects is one of the top UK architectural practices. Devereux Architects has offices in Teesside, Rugby, Plymouth, Manchester, London, Dublin, Cork, Warsaw and Wroclaw and associated offices in Moscow, Singapore and the USA. 

Here, we talk to Mark Siddall on subjects from the practice to the PassivHaus.

What is Devereux’s design philosophy?

Devereux Architects believes in creating architecture that makes a significant contribution to the quality of the built environment, our surroundings and places in which we live and work.  Through our architecture, we create buildings and a built environment that generates positive, understandable and enjoyable places whether for living, working, learning, caring or relaxing.  

Concern for the global environment and climatic conditions is a central influence on all of our designs. We consider that our buildings, their construction and operation should have minimum effect on the environment.

We bring a dynamic approach, generating new ideas in design, process and procedures, ensuring projects proceed smoothly. Our designs focus on the appropriate selection and use of materials and components, harnessing the latest technologies and construction techniques.

A rigorous design process based upon skills, experience, expertise and a desire to innovate combine to provide an excellent service to our clients.  At the same time, we add value to projects by understanding cost and looking beyond to focus on culture, environment, ecology and society.

What first attracted the practice to the Passivhaus scheme?

The practice gradually gravitated towards the PassivHaus standard whilst undertaking an extensive research exercise that carefully examined international best practice in sustainable low carbon design. What was of particular interest was the fact that it had been demonstrated to work repeatedly elsewhere in the world. Of course we questioned the appropriateness of the standard – was it suited to the way that people in the UK live, would it be affordable, what challenges would we face if we sought to develop buildings to this standard etc. etc. But every time we posed such questions, and then did some research to investigate the answer, we found that the PassivHaus standard was robust and suitable for application in the UK.

How difficult was it to implement in the housing scheme?

The scheme is still on site, so I’ll tell you when we are done. Any difficulties that arise do so because we are pioneering something very new to the UK. Despite having researched PassivHaus intensely for three years prior to commencing the current project we have been on a steep but not insurmountable learning curve. Having got this far we can already see that as time goes on the learning curve will become less and less steep for us. One of the greatest challenges has been to reassure people involved in the project that these houses are not something from another planet, they are not rocket science, rather they are carefully considered homes that will by and large not place great or unreasonable demands upon the occupants.

What are the long-term benefits by extension of utilizing this standard? 

There are many benefits from adopting radical energy efficiency measures. I’ll mention some of these whilst addressing other questions below.

From February you will be a UK certified Passivhaus designer, what does this mean to the practice as a whole?

It serves to consolidate the position of Devereux Architects as being one of the leading practices in the UK. 

What is the next step for the scheme?

The next step for PasssivHaus Standard is wider adoption and application within the UK. Not only is it suited to new buildings but it can be used on existing buildings also. If adopted at a national or regional level a PassivHaus retrofit strategy would be a real trailblazer, helping adoptive regions lead the way in developing a national programme that protects people from rising fuel costs. 

Fuel poverty is a growing concern, especially with the rise in the price of fossil fuels. If adopted, in the UK this PassivHaus subsidy strategy could help to avoid, if not eliminate, fuel poverty within the UK for the foreseeable future. But, this is not the only benefit that that would emerge from this radical programme. 

Firstly, if local construction companies were to undertake refurbishment work, the regions could capitalise from increased employment. The local workforce could also benefit from up-skilled staff, as they learn to design and build to the PassivHaus Standard, making specialist, regional builders a valued resource nationally. 

Secondly, if the regions were to use the subsidy strategy adopted in Germany to help develop a manufacturing base for PassivHaus technologies, then it would be possible to capitalise upon the programme, by manufacturing and supplying products and skills across the UK, Europe and beyond. 

Thirdly, the reduced amount of energy used to power buildings would means that the international utility companies, currently supplying the majority of energy to UK properties are neatly side stepped, leaving more money within the regions. 

Fourthly, there is a strong relationship between the incidence of asthma in children, one of the UK’s key health complaints, and poor indoor air quality. One of the benefits of PassivHaus is that indoor air quality is improved, thus a refurbishment programme could help to address concerns about health and well-being. The savings to the NHS alone could be significant. Finally, carbon emissions will be minimized, helping to protect the planet. 

Do you have any plans to roll it out in any other schemes?

Yes. All of them are in the early stages at the moment but we are hopeful that they will come to fruition, but in these uncertain times who can tell. We have begun to think about furthering our work by using PassivHaus to strengthen all the work undertaken by the practice. To this end we are interested developing new homes, schools, offices, hospitals, sports halls and of course in working on the retrofit of existing buildings, both residential and non-domestic.

Will the Passivhaus scheme work across all areas of architecture/ construction? For instance, in the biggest public buildings?

Certainly. The PassivHaus Standard is for all building types. (Haus in German means something more akin to “building” rather than “house”.) In central Europe there are PassivHaus schools, offices, nursing homes, halls of residence, fire stations and, of course, homes.

Does the scheme pose any constraints on building?

PassivHaus is not a “scheme” it is an energy performance standard that is supported by a rigorous quality assurance system as a consequence a building that achieves the standard is not bound to any architectural style. Furthermore most of the technologies can go largely unnoticed and as even the thicker walls can be detailed in such a way as to manage the impact upon the depth of the window reveals. Whilst there is a requirement of intelligent, well considered design the windows themselves do not have to be particularly large. As a consequence they can more or less be located wherever the designer or client desires. For these reasons it is considered tat there is no conceivable limit to the designs that can be developed.

This approach strongly contrasts with the kind of solution that many other architects are working on at the moment. They rely upon “blot-on” technologies such as wind turbines, photovoltaic panels and the like. Such technologies are complex and hard to maintain. 

Energy efficiency is cheap, cost effective, low maintenance and highly replicable. One has to ask, why hasn’t the UK adopted this standard of energy efficiency before? Perhaps the truth may lie in the fact that the UK has never had voluntary energy performance standards that could be used to help focus the mind. Instead we have made do with building regulations, believing they are best practice.

How does the Passivhaus scheme intend to keep up with the constant changes in modern day life?

The PassivHaus standard is not about compromise it is about optimization. In this respect the ethos of PassivHaus will always remain current with modern day life. There are many things in modern day life that people quite rightly consider to be important – hot showers, warm homes, cold beer etc etc. 

Now spend a moment to consider that space heating and hot water accounts for 60 per cent of the energy we use, these energy saving measures have a significant impact on reducing our impact upon environment. When you combine all these measures together, compared to the average house, a PassivHaus reduces carbon emissions by 80 per cent and energy consumption by 85 per cent. 

It has been widely stated in the press that the total average energy bill is set to hit £1000 per year. In the average home the DTI reports that space heating accounts for 61 per cent of all energy use and that domestic hot water accounts a further 23 per cent. That’s a staggering 84 per cent of energy use! If your interested the remaining energy use is cooking, lighting and appliances. 

Now contemplate the average annual gas bill for a four bed, 1300 sq ft house designed to the PassivHaus standard. First of all it’s about £63 per year for space heating and, depending upon whether or not you adopted solar how water, for domestic hot water it can lie between £25 and £63 per year. So, for a princely sum of between £88 and £126 per year you can have all your heating needs met and be safely protected from the risk rocketing fuel bills in the future. Fuel poverty could be history! Not bad eh?