Isover, leading developer of sustainable insulation solutions to protect both the natural and built environments, has revealed the three UK winners of its international Architectural Student Design Competition.
This year’s competition required students to create a sustainable community living plan for around 12 to 15 families, located in Nottingham’s Trent Basin on the border between the city and the industrial zone. Teams were asked to take into account social and economic aspects, as well as constructional considerations, to design a sustainable neighbourhood in keeping with the local surroundings.
The development had to be designed in accordance with the Saint-Gobain Isover Multi-Comfort concept. This endorses and builds on Passivhaus principles, combining excellent acoustic comfort with superb internal air quality, fire protection and safety to give enhanced living comfort. It can be applied to any building style and is suitable for use in both new and retrofit construction.
Eight shortlisted teams were invited to showcase their entries at Ecobuild, where they presented their designs to a panel of industry experts including Professor Wolfgang Feist, founder of the Passivhaus Institute.
Professor Feist was joined by Nick Grant, technical director of the Passivhaus Trust, Bill Butcher, director of the Green Building Store and Gabriel Golumbeanu, international building concept developer for Isover.
Other industry experts on the panel included Steff Bell from the Scottish Passive House Centre, Professor Julian Marsh, partner at Marsh:Grochowski LLP Architects and Nick Ebbs, director of Igloo Regeneration. Nick is also chief executive of regeneration specialist Blueprint, which is playing a key part in the real-life development of Nottingham’s Trent Basin site on which students’ designs were based.
The three winning teams were:
Trent Quay – 1st Prize
Designed by Dan Shanahan and Emmett McNamara from The University of Edinburgh, the concept utilises existing buildings on the site, rejuvenating the area with a brewery and riverside bar and restaurant, as well as a fresh food market for local produce.
Passivhaus and Multi-Comfort criteria are achieved through building construction methods, effective insulation and liberation from non-renewable energy sources. All new buildings on the site are constructed using the Brettstapel solid timber construction system, which uses no glue or nails. Material is fabricated from softwood timber posts connected with hardwood dowels, using timber which would otherwise be unsuitable for construction to form load-bearing floors, walls and roof panels.
Trent Basin Urban Regeneration – 2nd Prize
The Trent Basin Urban Regeneration concept, designed by Denny Chan Kai Lok and Thomas Bennett from The University of Nottingham, envisions a phased regeneration of the Trent Basin. The mixed-use live / work scheme combines family housing with office space and community facilities.
The site’s two existing warehouses are converted into galleries, performance space, offices, restaurants and cafes, creating hubs of activity while preserving the heritage of the site to promote sustainable community living on the banks of the River Trent.
Trent Basin Eco Housing – 3rd Prize
This concept, designed by Funsho Parrott and Sian Hodgson from The University of Nottingham, was based around an eco development which was not only green, future proof and well integrated into local surroundings but also enjoyable to live and work in.
Providing a contemporary ‘village in the city’, the properties in the development sit alongside the Trent Basin and comprise two floors above ground and a basement floor. The concept takes a standard semi-detached house layout, puts it into terrace form and then modifies it to create a taller, semi-detached format which can be replicated and reconfigured across the site to form an urban village.
All three teams will go on to compete in the eighth international Architectural Student Design Competition final, which takes place in Bratislava from 22 – 25 May 2012 and features a top prize of €1,500.
For more information follow us on Twitter @IsoverUK, or visit www.multicomforthouse.co.uk.
