Gale&Snowden

Permaculture Designers Course Day 5

2012-02-07T15:12:00.001Z

Gale & Snowden's 5th Permaculture Designers Course training day was held on 26th January at our Bideford office. The day was part of a full Designers Course in Permaculture design leading to a certificate in Permaculture design. Attendees on the course include all Gale & Snowden staff, Clients and some key Consultants that work with us. The course, as well as leading to a Diploma in Permaculture Design, is a good venue to discuss current design projects and establish a common understanding about ecological and ethical principles and how to apply this to our work and personal life.

The workshops in the afternoon focused on our TSB (Technology Strategy Board) Future Climate Change Adaptation work for a swimming pool in Exeter and a Passivhaus Office development at Devon Gate, Tiverton. These workshops reviewed the scope of the climate change adaption work, the individual projects and looked at how the external landscaping and Permaculture design could contribute to the climate change adaptation strategies. Sketches were undertaken and are now being drawn up along with notes of the workshops so as to record all the feedback and interesting ideas generated. Keep watching our blog for more ongoing information about our TSB Future climate change adaption of buildings projects.

More information about Permaculture can be found on our website, here.

Passivhaus presentation goes down well at Taunton Deane Council Chambers

2012-02-07T15:12:00.000Z

On 16th January 2012 Emma Osmundsen of Exeter City Council and David Gale of Gale & Snowden Architects presented the Exeter City Council Passivhaus projects to Councillors. The presentation included the 21 Passivhaus dwellings at Rowan House and Knights Place Built in 2010 and 2011 and the planned ‘Extra Care’ facility and new city swimming pool both of which have received substantial funding from the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) to investigate future climate change adaption.

The presentation generated much discussion and positive feedback including the following comments made afterwards from Councillors;

• ‘it really does prove that exemplary standards can be achieved in new build and that Councils can be at the forefront of sustainable design. We should learn a great deal from this and I am hoping that the Council's affordable housing and housing service staff who were there utilise Exeter's advice’

• ‘it was very inspiring and it was interesting to hear from a very passionate officer and architect regarding what can be done, and who believe in the benefits of these sustainable properties. I hope that Taunton Deane can follow on from this and develop passivhaus and high levels of sustainable buildings here. I also hope that we can influence the way developers build their properties when they put in for planning applications. We also need to look at different ways we can fund, build and expand our housing stock to the same high standards that the people of Exeter are receiving’

• 'Thank you. Excellent presentation. We do need to keep upfront the reason for our (TDBC) interest, the very low cost of running these houses/flats for our prospective low income tenants and the relatively low maintenance they offer to us as landlords. Sometimes this can get sidelined in the hype!!'

The presentation made by Emma and David can be viewed below. David has been asked to make another presentation on March 30th.

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G&S win funding from TSB for energy performance evaluation

2011-11-08T14:10:00.000Z

Gale & Snowden Architects Ltd are pleased to announce that we have been successful in winning funding from the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) under the energy performance evaluation funding.

The intensive assessment over the next 18 months will be for the Passivhaus flats at Knights Place which were commissioned and are owned by Exeter City Council. The project was designed by Gale & Snowden Architects and completed in summer 2011. The in depth study will include:

energy monitoring
dynamic U-value and heat flux monitoring of building materials
air quality monitoring
temperature, humidity and CO2 monitoring
thermal comfort assessment for both winter warmth and summer overheating
renewable energy systems performance monitoring
tenant questionnaire

Through this monitoring, we will be able to assess how a Passivhaus scheme performs in operation. Part of the monitoring will be to compare a Passivhaus building with MVHR to a super-insulated, naturally ventilated dwelling.

The funding was won as part of a competition run by the TSB. The results of the monitoring will be published on our website in due course.

Opening ceremony for new extension to social club at Woolsery Sports and Community Hall

2011-10-18T09:59:00.000+01:00

The ongoing success of the community building was celebrated on 30th September with an opening ceremony for the new extension designed by Gale & Snowden Architects. The original building was designed 10 years ago and remains one of the most environmentally aware public buildings in the UK. The quality of the design was recognised in 2003 when the building was awarded a special Civic Trust Award for 'Vital Villages'.

David and Sam Gale were present at the extension opening ceremony and thanks were given by the community for Gale & Snowden's work and their charitable contribution to the project.

More information about Woolsery Sports and Community Hall can be found on our website.

Insulating a Cob Cottage - 1

2011-08-30T11:19:00.012+01:00

Jason our mechanical and energy engineer has recently been taking some time off from work to renovate and insulate his own cob cottage. Having already plastered internally using traditional methods and lime based plasters it was now time to apply what was learnt to the external facade. In its existing condition the cottage had cement render which needed to be replaced due to cracking and movement. This presented an ideal opportunity to also apply some form of external wall insulation system. Having researched various different ways of insulating cob walls ranging from hemp products to EPS systems to wood fibres Jason deciding on using a lime based insulating render system containing perlites. A render system called Unilit 20 with a thermal conductivity of 0.066 W/m.K. Whilst not as good as some modern insulants this is still a significant improvement over applying nothing. A balance had to be found between maintaining the aesthetics of the cottage and cob, vapour permeability and cost. In addition the render system has extraction qualities which promotes the drying out of the humidity and moisture in the walls which in turn ensures the walls stay warmer for longer.

Cob Cottage with cement render


existing cement render condition


monitoring instruments

Prior to the work taking place SPAB (Society for Protection of Ancient Buildings) decided to use the cottage as part of a research project they were conducting. This research project, which is part funded by the Dartmoor National Park Authority's Sustainable Development Fund is concerned with investigating the thermal performance of traditionally built walls and what can be done to improve them.

The SPAB Building Performance Survey, prior to the works taking place, looked at:

Fabric heat loss through the U-value measurement of wall elements both in the form of in-situ and calculated U-values.
Air infiltration through air permeability testing and thermographic survey.
Moisture, room and wall moisture including wall surface and interstitial moisture behaviour.
Indoor air conditions and comfort levels via the measurement of CO2.
Interior temperature and relative humidity.

Once the insulating measures have been carried out SPAB will return this winter to carry out the tests again. In addition to the external insulating render it is intended to dig out the ground floors and insulate them, increase the roof insulation and make the cottage more air tight.

Extract from SPAB interim report (draft)

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cement render removal


lovely bit of cob

now with skat coat

first coat of insulating render

G&S obtain funding through TSB Design for Future Climate: Adapting Buildings Round 2

2011-08-09T16:15:00.001+01:00

Gale & Snowden are pleased to announce that we have been successful in winning significant funding for two clients' projects from the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) - Design for Future Climate: Adapting Buildings Round 2 competition. The projects are a new public swimming pool facility and a new office complex, both to be designed to Passivhaus standards. The funding is to allow the practice to investigate solutions to deal with future climate change by employing our skills in building physics and low environmental impact, passive design.

The award of the funding comes after the practice was successful last year in the Round 1 funding from the TSB for investigating and designing in climate change adaption for an Extra Care Facility in Exeter, Devon. This Round 1 work will be completed in October 2011 and the results will be made available shortly afterwards.

If you are interested in finding out more please feel free to visit our website and contact us.

Passivhaus Open Days

2011-06-24T17:27:00.000+01:00

Gale & Snowden are proud to have the opportunity to show visitors around the 18 new flats at Knights Place, Exeter, some of the first multi-residential buildings in the UK to be designed to Passivhaus standards.

Site visits are being held during Thursday 30th June and Friday 1st July 2011, with a series of tours, talks and presentations available throughout each day.

To book an appointment, please contact Gale & Snowden on 01237 474952.

Images: Copyright Gale & Snowden

New website!!

2011-06-08T12:54:00.000+01:00

Our new website is now online!

ecodesign.co.uk offers in-depth information on Gale & Snowden's approach to projects and our expertise as well as project profiles and literature to download.

If you're interested in anything ecodesign, please visit at http://www.ecodesign.co.uk/

G&S Passivhaus flats shortlisted for multiple awards at 2011 LABC South West Building Excellence Awards.

2011-05-25T11:54:00.003+01:00

Gale & Snowden's Passivhaus scheme at Rowan House for Exeter City Council has been shortlisted for three awards at the 2011 LABC South West Building Excellence Awards: Best Social Housing Development; Best Technical Development and Best Sustainable Development.

3 Passivhaus flats at Rowan House, Sivell Place, Exeter

The 3 flats at Rowan House, Sivell Place, Exeter are among the first social housing accommodation in the UK to be built using the Passivhaus method for an apartment development.

When the client, Exeter City Council, was offered a funding opportunity by the HCA to develop council housing in Exeter, it was decided to use this chance to provide exemplary, affordable housing, built to the highest standard of sustainable construction.

To meet the stringent Passivhaus standard it was required to achieve exceptional levels of air tightness with the air permeability target as low as 0.3 cbm/sqm/h. This, together with high levels of insulation, high performance windows and doors, thermal bridge free detailing and the use of a more than 90% efficient mechanical ventilation system has reduced the overall heating demand to a minimum so that a traditional heating system was not required.

Achieving the Passivhaus standard was only possible through the combined effort of the design team developing the air tightness strategy and detailing, the site management team and builders for implementing this strategy and finally the client for their commitment and passion to deliver an outstanding, exemplary housing scheme. Purely through passive design elements Rowan House will use approximately 90% less heating energy when compared to a standard UK building (if built to current Building Regulation requirements). In other words Rowan House could be heated by the equivalent of 1.5 litre of heating oil, i.e.15 kWh of thermal energy per sqm per year, or 60p per sqm per year (based on a price for heating oil of 40p a litre), making it truly affordable for its future tenants without compromising on comfort or indoor air quality.

This year the LABC SW Building Excellence Award winners will be announced at a black tie gala dinner on Friday 24th June 2011. David, Lawrence and Tomas from G&S will be attending.

For more information, please visit the Rowan House project page on our website

G&S Passivhaus schemes win national award

2011-05-25T11:31:00.002+01:00

At the Association of Retained Council Housing (ARCH) awards, held on 19th May 2011, two schemes designed by Gale & Snowden for Exeter City Council scooped the ARCH Award 2011 for Innovation and Sustainability.

The two developments at Rowan House (3 flats) and Knights Place (18 flats), are among the first social housing accommodation in the UK to be built using the Passivhaus method for an apartment development. Rowan House was completed at the end of 2010 and Knights Place is due for completion this month.

Exeter City Council successfully bid for grant funding to build the 21 new homes and worked closely with tenants to understand their preferences in relation to sustainable housing, and with Gale & Snowden to deliver the projects.

For more information please visit the Knights Place and Rowan House pages on our website.

9 of the 18 Passivhaus flats at Knights Place, Merlin Crescent, Exeter.

Gale & Snowden Architects provide a full Passivhaus design service as well as a consultancy service to support their clients with the Passivhaus aspects of their projects including:

Individual design consultancy to meet the stringent criteria required by the Passivhaus standard for developers, contractors and designers
Advice on economic design strategies to reduce the energy demand
PHPP calculations
Thermal bridging analysis
Air tightness consultancy and detailing
Full Passivhaus compliant MVHR design service
CPD seminars covering Passivhaus design principles, achieving the air tightness and using the PHPP
Individually organized guided Passivhaus tours to exemplar projects in Germany and the UK

Gale & Snowden Architects’ team of certified Passivhaus designers have more than 3 years experience in designing to this standard in the UK context and have been involved with all work stages of the design, detailing and delivery of some of the first Passivhaus Houses in the UK through to practical completion.

For further information please visit the Passivhaus design consultancy page on our website.

Excellent feedback follows TSB presentation

2011-05-23T10:54:00.001+01:00

Extra Care for Exeter. Gale & Snowden Architects

"I really enjoyed the presentation on this project. They are confident that they can provide a safe thermal environment for vulnerable older occupants to 2050 using a passive design. My favourite part is the knowledge that older people in the UK aren't used to passive homes and so they are building in an alert system to prompt occupants to close their windows when the temperature is higher outside than inside.

Another lovely aspect of this project is that they took the opportunity to totally redesign the care home to have bedrooms facing north and the living rooms facing south and overlooking communal gardens to give a sense of other people being around. It's not just a design to avoid overheating above 25 degrees, but also designed to be a more pleasant place to live."

Dr. Fionnuala Costello - Lead Technologist, Low Impact Buildings, Technology Strategy Board

https://ktn.innovateuk.org/web/design-for-future-climate/articles/-/blogs/d4fc-2010-factsheet-3-extracare4exeter

G&S at the Spears Design for Living Awards

2011-05-20T15:56:00.002+01:00

On Wednesday this week, after presenting at the TSB Conference for Climate Change Adaptation, David attended the Spears Design for Living Awards in London where Gale & Snowden were shortlisted for the Garden Desire award. On this occasion, we didn't win but a good evening was had by all!

Photographs by Clive Boursnell

Design for Future Climate Change: Adapting Buildings

2011-05-18T10:07:00.001+01:00

Factsheet illustrating the recent work that G&S have undertaken with Exeter City Council, researching and designing a new-build, exemplary extra-care facility in Exeter. G&S are presenting the scheme at the Technology Strategy Board conference in London today.

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G&S shortlisted for high-profile award

2011-05-17T17:55:00.003+01:00

Gale & Snowden have been shortllisted for a high profile award at the Spear's 'Design For Living Awards'. The award we are shorlisted for is the 'Gardens of Desire' category for 'the designer who works with the materials nature gave us'.

The awards ceremony is being held tomorrow evening, May 18th at Jack Barclay, Berkeley Square, London.

David is attending the event with Clive Boursnell, our photographer, and he is hoping to meet the awards presenter, Elizabeth Hurley......

Keynote speakers at Climate Change conference

2011-05-17T17:51:00.003+01:00

Gale & Snowden are a keynote speaker at the TSB (Technology Strategy Board) event in London tomorrow (May 18th). Our research and design work into Climate Change Adaption for a new-build, exemplary extra-care facility in Exeter will be showcased at the TSB conference.

More information on this event, our Climate Change Adaptation work and the extra care facility design will be posted following the event.

Newsletter 6. Spring 2011

2011-04-04T16:18:00.001+01:00

Welcome to our latest newsletter.

If you are interested in any of the items, you will find hyperlinks to relevant web sites, so you can explore the subject further.

Please let us know what you think in the comments section below and if you have any thoughts about what you would like to see in our future newsletters, we would similarly like to hear from you.

We wish you well.

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