timber frame - passivehouseplus.ie

South London scheme delivers better health for residents

A sensitive development of social housing in Lambeth combines three new passive houses with six low energy flats delicately constructed inside an old Victorian terrace — and with the emphasis on good indoor air quality, residents are already reporting improvements in health & well-being since moving from their old accommodation.

Larch-clad passive house inspired by a venn diagram.

With an intricate design based on the concept of two pitched-roof sections that overlap, this eye-catching timberframed Sussex home proves you can meet the passive house standard with just about any shape.

Timber & Straw passive house is a world first

Built with a timber frame insulated with straw-bale, and featuring an extensive suite of ecological and recycled materials, this stunning North Yorkshire home also produces more energy than it consumes, making it the first straw-bale building in the world to reach the brand new ‘passive house plus’ standard.

Simple and stunning Highlands passive house merges old and new

While embracing traditional farmstead design made it trickier for this new build home in the Scottish Highlands to meet the coveted passive house standard, mixing modern standards of super-insulation with vernacular farmhouse architecture ultimately led to the creation of a very special home for proprietors Jeanette and Jon Fenwick — one that picked up a coveted UK Passivhaus Award in 2016.

Experience is key to successful self builds: Kudos

The need for experienced contractors who can be depended upon to deliver the high quality product that a passive or indeed low energy house demands cannot be undervalued, leading timber frame manufacturer Kudos has claimed.

Cygnum Timber Frame picks up five awards in one week

Leading timber frame manufacturer Cygnum picked up five awards during one week in October, in recognition of some of the high profile passive-certified projects it has completed in recent years.

MBC Timber Frame opens new Gloucester factory

MBC Timber Frame Ltd has announced the opening of its new manufacturing and design premises at Quedgeley Court, Gloucester. The company told Passive House Plus that it has the capacity to manufacture 50,000 to 60,000 square metres of passive housing per year at the new facility. 

Cygnum shortlisted for four timber awards

Leading timber frame manufacturer Cygnum has been shortlisted for four prizes at this year’s Structural Timber Awards. The awards “showcase innovation, celebrate best practice and recognise expertise in timber technology and the ways it contributes to an attractive, energy efficient and sustainable built environment”.  

Simple-yet-stylish West Berkshire passive house that bore a business

This new timber frame home in the south of England met the passive house standard despite a less-than-optimum orientation, launched a brand new design-and-build venture between its architect and project manager, and embraced a subtle-yet-elegant design that maintains a simple passive house form while drawing inspiration from the local vernacular. 

New timber framer specialises in passive & ecological building

A Galway-based timber frame construction firm established last year that specialises in passive house has committed to using 100 per cent ecological building materials and advanced technologies to keep its environmental footprint to a minimum. 

Tackle housing crisis with passive housing — Cygnum

Leading Irish timber frame manufacture Cygum has said that it is possible to tackle the housing crises in the UK and Ireland by mass-producing high quality timber passive houses on a large scale.

Ecohouse passive design & build service launches in Ireland

Ecohouse Developments, a new low energy design and build service, has launched in Ireland. The company employs a team of architects, engineers and builders, and can deliver turnkey passive houses to its clients, or simply build the principle passive structure if the client prefers.

Ecological passive house built on tight budget

Despite some setbacks, this passive house in Roscommon managed to meet the passive house standard for fairly standard costs — all while emphasising natural materials like untreated timber, cellulose and sheep’s wool.

Red brick Surrey home becomes an unintentional passive house

The team behind this Surrey home intended to use it as a test-bed for passive house design and construction, without necessarily expecting to achieve certification. But as the house neared completion, they realised that they were within touching distance of the coveted low energy standard.

Artfully crafted Tyrone passive house

This new Dungannon home shuns conventional passive house design and embraces the late 19th century Arts and Crafts movement.

Essex house nears passive against the odds

When Mike Jacob of Trunk Low Energy Building started planning to build this unique Essex home, it seemed likely to run way over budget, and still fail to meet the passive house standard. But rethinking key details and making tough compromises got the house within touching distance of passive, while slashing costs.

Derbyshire upgrade blitzes Enerphit target

Hitting the Enerphit standard can be challenging for even the most seasoned passive house specialist, so what chances did Kate and Geoff Ball’s semi-d have when the architect and builder had no passive experience? With a well-planned approach and no end of enthusiasm, they passed with flying colours, as Kate Ball explains.

West Midlands school achieves 90 percent energy saving

Building a passive house school is a big achievement, but the team behind Oakmeadow Primary School in Wolverhampton have done something even more formidable — they built one when they weren't even asked to, and they did it for a conventional budget.

Visiting Germany to study low energy building

In this dispatch, Darragh McKiernan, a graduate of Sustainable Energy at Cork Institute of Technology, reflects on a two-week visit to south Germany to study energy-efficient building.

A passive house time-lapse from Cork

We tip our proverbial hats to Cork-based timber frame manufacturer Eco Timber Frame who have posted time-lapse video of one of their recent passive house projects online.

Cygnum innovation cuts costs on closed panel cellulose

Leading Irish timber frame manufacturer Cygnum is launching a pioneering closed low embodied carbon panelised building system that integrates cellulose insulation.

The Precision system has been developed by the company to drive down the costs of a building system that’s becoming increasingly popular due to its thermal performance, healthiness and low environmental impact.

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