Gale & Snowden is Now Recruiting! #CDM2015

Gale & Snowden Architects is looking for an experienced CDM Consultant to work with the practice to enhance our Principle Designer services and procedures under the CDM Regulations 2015.  This position will be on a part-time basis. 

Suitable candidates will be able to demonstrate a minimum of 3 years experience as the CDM Co-ordinator for a range of construction projects and must have relevant qualifications e.g.  CITB CSCS/NEBOSH construction certificate, Association of CDM Co-ordinators CDM Certificate (AcPC3) or equivalent.

Please send your CV to Maria Gale at our Bideford office:

18 Market Place
Bideford
Devon
EX39 2DR

info@ecodesign.co.uk

G&S Presenting Keynote Project at UK Passivhaus Conference 2015 #UKPHC15 #Passivhaus

Gale & Snowden Architects are pleased to announce that they are presenting a keynote project at this year's UK Passivhaus Conference in London.

G&S Director and Certified Passivhaus Designer, Tomas Gartner, will be representing Gale & Snowden on Tuesday 20th October 2015 at the Business Design Centre in London.

Tomas will be presenting one of the Conference's Keynote Projects alongside AFLS+P's Mark Thomas; the pair will be discussing live project Exeter Leisure Centre ('Exeter Active') and the design challenges faced throughout the project so far.

This presentation will be held in the main auditorium in 'Session 2' of the conference, between 11:30 and 13:00.

Tomas will also be presenting 'Designing for Cost Optimisation' alongside Parsons + Whittley's Chris Parsons in 'Session 3' of the conference, between 14:00 and 15:15 in room EF.

Further information about the UK Passivhaus Conference 2015 (including the full conference programme) can be found on their website here.

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Gale & Snowden Architects has been designing low energy buildings since 1992, and since 2008 G&S has been at the forefront of delivering Passivhaus Buildings in the UK including residential, commercial, education, leisure and public buildings, both new-build and refurbishment.

To achieve the high performance passive low energy buildings that their clients are seeking, G&S offer the in-house expertise to integrate, dynamically model and design all architectural, mechanical and electrical requirements for any building scheme. The practice offers a full design service or individual consultancy service to developers, contractors or designers seeking to meet the stringent criteria of the Passivhaus standard.

Gale & Snowden is registered with the Passivhaus Institute in Germany as Certified Designers, as well as being a member of the Passivhaus Trust in the UK.

Further information about Gale & Snowden Architects as Passivhaus Designers can be found here.

@ExeterCouncil #Passivhaus developments by G&S win 'Best Domestic New Build' at #INCAAwards2015

At the INCA (Insulated Render and Cladding Association) Awards last night in London, Bennett Square and Brookway (Barberry Close and Silverberry Close) jointly scooped the "Domestic New Build" Award.

Gale & Snowden worked closely with Exeter City Council, Interserve Construction, Alsecco and PRS Group to deliver the projects which are now fully occupied with happy tenants.

Barberry Close
Photo: Alsecco/Elizabeth Savage

G&S would like to thank all those involved in making the schemes so successful and for together placing the spotlight on Passivhaus, healthy housing that helps to defeat fuel poverty.

G&S Nominated for INCA Award #INCAAwards2015

Gale & Snowden Architects have been shortlisted for a 2015 INCA Award.

INCA, the Insulated Render and Cladding Association, is the recognised trade association for the external wall insulation (EWI) industry. The longstanding INCA Awards demonstrate the vital role for EWI in improving the energy efficiency of buildings, lifting households out of fuel poverty and transforming local communities.

Gale & Snowden are short-listed within the 'Domestic New Build' category for their fourteen affordable COB2 Passivhaus projects Barberry Close (Bennett Square) & Silverberry Close (Brookway), working with Exeter City Council, Alsecco (UK) Ltd and PRS Group.

A pdf project report case study of the two developments, written by Alsecco, can be found here.

Barberry Close and Silverberry Close are two of three developments completed earlier this year by Gale & Snowden Architects for Exeter City Council.  Together with Reed Walk the sites provide twenty new houses for Exeter’s social tenants.

Barberry Close
Photo credit: Alsecco / Elizabeth Savage

Silverberry Close
Photo credit: Alsecco / Elizabeth Savage

Silverberry Close
Photo credit: Alsecco / Elizabeth Savage

The award ceremony will take place at the black-tie INCA Awards dinner on Thursday 8th October 2015 at the prestigious 8 Northumberland in London.

"Our design focussed on a fabric first and optimal orientation approach based on Passivhaus principles to first minimise the energy demand of the building, reducing its carbon emissions, before adding renewables where appropriate. The result is a low-carbon solution that responds to a changing climate and tackles fuel poverty at the same time.

 By incorporating Building Biology healthy design principles in to the design from the outset, the building can provide an uplifting and life-enhancing environment. Building Biology is the holistic study of the man-made environment, human health and ecology.

The developments at Brookway and Bennett Square therefore incorporate a range of measures to ensure a healthy and comfortable internal environment including such features as organic paints and stains with low or no toxic Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), radial electrical wiring designed to reduce the amount of electro-magnetic radiation and easily cleanable surfaces with no fitted carpets which can harbour dust mites, to name but a few."

- David Gale, Gale & Snowden Architects

Gale & Snowden are working towards reducing the environmental impact of existing buildings and have a longstanding history of using external wall insulation (EWI) on dwellings. This has been recognised as being exemplary in a number of publications, including the Carbon Trust / BRE - Good Practice Guide 293: External Wall Insulation for Dwellings, which Gale & Snowden wrote for the BRE and has since been updated by the Carbon Trust.

This publication is a technical appraisal of the EWI industry and provides guidance for designers and specifiers of external wall insulation for dwellings. It can be viewed online here, or below:

To view the INCA Press Release and full nominations for the INCA Awards, click here.