WORCESTERSHIRE LEADING THE WAY IN SUSTAINABLE BUILDING

Speakers at the event included John Christophers of Associated Architects who has designed several important buildings in the city for Kings School and has recently worked with Speller Metcalfe completing the first truly ‘Zero Carbon’ house refurbishment and extension to be undertaken in Europe. Formerly a two bed semi in Balsall Heath, Birmingham and originally built in 1840.

Jonathan Hines of Architype, award winning Architects from Hereford with a national reputation for linking   contemporary architecture with the use of sustainable materials, also talked on the merits of adopting new innovative building techniques, including the German Passivhaus standards which look to create super insulated buildings with minimal air leakage and draughts.

With Government legislation targeting all new buildings to achieve Zero Carbon standards by 2016, and committed to upgrading the standards of existing housing stock, Worcestershire is now very much at the forefront of the initiative to build now the homes and buildings of the future.

To meet the challenges held, Speller Metcalfe have recently established a new eco-build division set to concentrate upon sustainable building projects, the first of which is the construction of several new Eco Vicarages across the county for the Diocese of Worcester who are engaging a very pro-active policy toward the issue of sustainability.