Congratulations to the SusCon team for achieving 88.85% OUSTANDING DESIGN STAGE BREEAM Rating! This is the first education building to achieve the highest BREEAM rating at interim stage.

SusCon is a sustainable construction training and research centre that is pioneering a new approach to sustainable construction learning. The building reflects this innovative approach and has been designed as a learning tool in its own right.

Within the BREEAM Assessment, specific credits were obtained through innovative design including an EPC rating of A(9) achieved through excellent building fabric performance and installation of biomass boilers. In addition, rainwater harvesting and low water use sanitary fittings have been fitted, high amounts of recycled aggregates from local suppliers used and a significant minimisation of construction waste produced was achieved.

100 Princedale Road is the first certified UK PassivHaus retrofit.

The approach was to implement a continuous insulation and air-tightness layer to meet the requirements for space heating demand reductions for PassivHaus standards. The scheme is located in a Conservation Area and due attention was paid to meeting heritage requirements, including the use of Conservation area compliant triple glazed windows. The client was Octavia Housing and the design team comprised Ryder Strategies as contractor, Paul Davis + Partners as architects and Eight Associates as sustainability consultants. The scheme was certified by WARM.

Congratulations to everyone involved with the St Dominic's College development, Harrow on the Hill.

The blessing and re-dedication by Archibishop Vincent Nichols of the newly renovated Chapel and the opening of the Siena Building / Sports Hall at the college on 15th July, was an inspiring and very enjoyable morning. The Siena building will provide much needed sports facilities for the students at the college. The development scored a Very Good BREEAM rating, which was achieved through the incorporation of the building’s living wall, green roof and natural ventilation strategy. 

Issue 4.0 of the BREEAM Education manual is out.

Children Centres and Nursery Schools can now be assessed under BREEAM Education - which is less expensive and easier to assess than Bespoke Assessment types....

Eight are involved in two of the winning Retrofit for the Future Schemes

Eight Associates are part of the design team for two of the successful projects, with the following partners:

1. Octavia Housing, alongside Paul Davis + Partners and Green Tomato Energy
2. The Metropolitan Housing Trust, with Anne Thorne Architects and Partnership and King Shaw Associates

The first of these, with Octavia Housing, is the refurbishment of a three storey solid brick Victorian terraced house in a conservation area in London. The property’s energy consumption and CO2 emissions will be reduced by 94% and 83% respectively, saving the future tenant an estimated £910 a year in gas and electricity bills.  Although the cost of doing this is higher than a standard renovation, materials and technologies are being specified to minimise expense.  The scheme also aims to promote systems that are currently cutting-edge to help reduce their costs and move them into the mainstream.
On completion, these 87 projects should create practical and effective whole-house prototypes that provide comfortable, healthy and affordable homes for tenants.