We at Gale & Snowden Architects are pleased to have finished another Passivhaus 1st – the UK’s 1st Passivhaus Plus multi residential scheme – Seaton Beach apartment building.  Designed to be high tech, eco friendly and following building biology design principles to promote health and well being. A rated EPC and classed as zero carbon.

The scheme benefits from a hollow clay block walling system that needs no other form of insulation other than the clay block itself, low electro magnetic field wiring arrangements, triple glazing and a high efficiency mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery (MVHR) complete with exhaust air heat pump heating the hot water.   With its highly insulated and air tight Passivhaus envelope and a MVHR system which provides fresh filtered air all year round, the apartments will be warm in the winter and fresh and cool during the summer.

There is also an array of PV panels on the roof so the building generates more energy than it uses.  All of which have contributed in the building achieving the stringent Passivhaus Plus target, which no other apartment building in the UK has achieved.  It also scored an A rating on it energy performance certificate. 

The scheme is going through the final stages of PHI certification and is predicted to achieve:

Heating energy 8 kWh/m2.a  

Primary Energy Renewable (PER) 40 kWh/m2.a  

Seaton Beach follows on from where G&S completed the 1st Passivhaus certified multi residential building Knights Place.  An exemplar sustainable social housing scheme completed in 2011 when the term Passivhaus was little heard of in the UK.
It was a real pleasure to work with the team on this project, especially the client – Seaton Beach Developments, who enthusiastically engaged with the Passivhaus design and site processes every step of the way.  https://www.seatonbeach.co.uk/ 

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Images credit to https://www.norrsken.co.uk and https://www.dugwilders.co.uk