Pictured above: Unity Gardens
Waldeck has come up trumps in the Sustainable Housing Awards
2010 which celebrate the very best in eco-technology, innovative
design and inspirational projects for social landlords and their
tenants.
The Lincolnshire-based consulting engineering firm was the
winner in the Sustainable Smaller Social Housing Project of the
Year category along with Lincolnshire Rural Housing Association,
South Holland District Council, Search Architects, Quadrant
Surveyors and Robert Woodhead Ltd.
The winning project was the new £1.1m Unity Gardens
development of six single-storey two and three-bedroom homes bunded
by earth in Long Sutton near Spalding.
The Code for Sustainable Homes level five development is near
self-sufficient, generating surplus electricity, requiring almost
no heating, harvesting over half its water requirements from
rainfall and supplying food for the residents from its
allotments.
According to the Lincolnshire Rural Housing Association the
scheme goes 'beyond zero carbon' because the planting and
insulation earth-bunded building fabric absorbs carbon dioxide
emissions.
This claim was backed up by the award's judges who confirmed
that Unity Gardens had good grounds to claim to be one of the UK's
first zero carbon social housing developments. "The waste
minimisation and responsible sourcing of materials really shone out
and it had a very thorough approach to biodiversity," they
said.
Waldeck, which was appointed by the Lincolnshire Rural Housing
Association, was responsible for the civil and structural
engineering work including the structural design of the
substructures and superstructures for the housing units and civil
design of the external works, foul and surface water drainage and
Section Agreements (S38 & S104).
Associate Director Andrew Foottit said: "We were delighted to be
involved with the success of this challenging but rewarding scheme
which was the first of its kind in England. Waldeck is a market
leader in sustainable design and this award confirms our
credentials in this field!
"The development was constructed on a greenfield site in
Lincolnshire but identified important elements within the scope of
our design that could be utilised on any housing scheme, be that
brownfield urban regeneration or otherwise."