This home demonstrates how a Victorian house can be transformed with substantially reduced environmental impact. Minimising use of steel, concrete and internal linings achieved a Lifetime Carbon figure 40% lower than if it had been built conventionally. The design was driven by a strategy of working with what was there, the carbon content of necessary new materials, their buildability and cost.
A spacious kitchen for the chef client is the renovation's heart, with new sightlines and increased daylight. Spaces are defined through considered placement of structural piers and changes in floor level. Glass doors connect the home office to a roof terrace. Timber structure was employed in place of conventional steelwork throughout, fully demountable at the end of life.
The project is the UK's first building structure to specify limestone calcined clay cement (LC3) concrete, a product which has the capacity to reduce global CO2 emissions by 1-2% if adopted universally. Using this new technology did not distract from the responsibility of making a unique home for the client, one that they enjoy as "lighter, roomier, more functional and more beautiful, whilst remaining true to our values."
NLA Don't Move Improve Awards 2024: Winner of the Environmental Leadership Prize. Hackney Design Awards 2024: Overall Winner and Commendation for Sustainability.
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