Eight Associates appointed to carry out a BREEAM assessment of the refurbishment of the NHBC (National House Building Council) office in Milton Keynes.  They are striving for exemplary environmental performance with a photovoltaic array, a detailed ecology plan and a state of the art BMS (Building Management System) to allow them to thoroughly monitor the performance of the resulting building.  Eight will be working alongside Winvic to achieve an Excellent rating.

We have joined the 10:10 campaign,

The aim is to reduce emissions by 10% in one year – or as close as your company can get. By reducing emissions you’ll be cutting costs, getting ahead of the curve and helping Britain show the rest of the world how it’s done… join now at http://www.1010uk.org

Eight Associates hosts Cath Hassell's Code for Sustainable Homes Water Talk (http://www.ech2o.co.uk/pages/background.htm).

The recent update in the Code for Sustainable Homes has brought with it a new Water Calculator that is much less demanding than previous editions. This is mainly due to the ‘Normalisation factor’ in the calculator - this makes it easier to comply.

Water Carbon Emissions
Water industry accounts for 0.6% of total UK emissions. But when include heating the water this rises to 6%.

In Summary:
New calculator is a definite improvement but re-using grey/rain water still allows 6 litre WC’s and does not take into account carbon load.
The Code should recognise reducing water consumption as the best option, not encouraging rain/greywater reuse in the home - as in BREEAM or AECB standard - you get rewarded for installing 4/2 dual flush etc…
CSH levels 5/6 requirement should be reduced to 85/90 litres/person/day.
CSH should reward rain/grey water used in garden more significantly.

Eight Associates are working with Westminster Council and RBK&C to establish retrofit policies for their Historic Environments, establishing what Best Practice Principles should be in place and also how to achieve Code Level 4.

Jean-Pierre has recently been involved in facilitating discussions between the Design and Conservation Officers and the Environmental Policy Managers at Westminster Council to discuss best practice principles when retrofitting the historic environment.

JP is also involved in creating an evidence base for the RBK&C Policy in retrofitting their historic environment to achieve Code Level 4.

So far 4 case studies have been discussed in terms of what would be feasible, practical and cost effective in terms of reducing carbon emissions. The case studies include a mews house in a conservation area, a grade 2 listed building of apartments, an office in a conservation area and a victorian terrace not in a conservation area… we hope to be able to keep you updated on the findings and welcome any questions, please contact us on the info@ address.

Eight Associates have been successful in the first stage of the "Retrofit for the Future" competition in their joint bid with Octavia Housing, Paul Davis + Partners and Green Tomato Energy.

The project delivers against the Retrofit challenge and the government’s fuel poverty goals by providing a practical and cost-effective whole house prototype, reducing carbon emissions, energy consumption and fuel bills whilst providing the tenant with a comfortable, healthy and spacious living environment.

The project overview: PassivHaus retrofit of a three storey solid brick Victorian terraced house in a conservation area. The property’s CO2 emissions and energy consumption will be reduced by 83% and 90% respectively, saving the tenant an estimated £910 a year, whilst the innovative use of tried and tested materials will keep costs to a minimum. Our focus will be on the key areas of insulation, airtightness and thermal bridging whilst we will also use innovative renewable and low energy technologies to generate heat and power on site. The experience will be documented and used for workshop knowledge transfer and training… for further information please email us at the info@ address.