Location
Wales
Client
Cardiff Council
N. of Units
48 homes, 2 office blocks, 4 bungalows
Delivered by
Beattie Passive
Certification
Passivhaus Plus
Net Zero
Yes
Airtightness
<0.6 ACH@50pa
U-Values
0.11 W/m2k
Modular homes for the homeless
Commissioned to provide temporary accommodation for families experiencing homelessness, this ‘meanwhile’ housing scheme consists of forty-eight relocatable volumetric modular 1, 2 and 3-bedroom studio apartments, plus two additional modular blocks (which house an office block for staff, a training room, a training kitchen, a 24/7 medical office and a crèche). Cardiff Council is providing full wraparound support services and residents can attend sessions with trained and experienced staff that cover parenting skills, cookery, employment and financial advice services.
Modelled in the Passivhaus Planning Package (PHPP) and constructed around the Beattie patented, PHI certified timber-frame build system, these homes all meet the energy efficiency and thermal comfort requirements of the Passivhaus Classic standard, but then go further still to achieve Passivhaus Plus performance levels. As a result, these net zero-rated modular homes don’t just use less energy – they generate their own. Therefore, not only are these homes phenomenally energy efficient – effectively eliminating fuel poverty – they’re also rated net zero for carbon emissions.
The scheme combined all the energy efficiency, comfort, and carbon-saving benefits of Passivhaus with the speed and versatility of offsite volumetric modular construction.
At Cardiff Council, we’re keen on zero carbon homes for environmental reasons, but also because of the low cost of heating. The cost of building conventional homes has soared so, although building passive houses has cost slightly more, the gap has closed. The council put a lot of thought into how to offer support to the residents and the site includes an office block for staff, a training room, a training kitchen, a 24/7 medical office, and a crèche. We’ve tried to be all-encompassing in addressing people’s needs, whether it’s their mental health, getting a job, or helping with parenting. It’s reassuring for them to have security and support on site. The idea of the training kitchen is to help residents learn to cook a nice meal and be more independent.
Christopher Probert, Project Manager for Housing and Development
Building net zero modular homes
One of the simplest ways to achieve Net Zero is to build a Passivhaus and then add a source of renewable energy. Because the energy demand is so diminished, it only takes a small amount of renewable energy to balance it out. For this particular project, we used 2.5kws of photovoltaic panels per flat.
Independent analyst-house CERCULA was commissioned to conduct a full project lifecycle analysis. CERCULA discovered the potential cost savings could exceed £17 million when compared to a like-for-like traditional masonry build with average energy consumption. Moreover, by choosing Beattie rather than a traditional housebuilder, Cardiff Council is estimated to have saved 5,189 tonnes of carbon. That’s equivalent to 86,483 trees grown from seed for a decade, 12,067 barrels of oil being burned or 1.12 wind turbines running for a full year! The project also has 78% less whole life carbon than a traditional build.
Residents at HAFAN are expected to save ~ £2,200 on their annual bills.
Quote from client team onsite
“The Ferry Road site is beautiful, and we are really enjoying working there. The apartments, as well as the whole site, feels spacious and well laid out. For temporary accommodation, in comparison to hostels, they are really a good size for families and perfect for encouraging independent community-based living, whilst still having 24-hour support on site. We have a mix of families on site and Ferry Road is seen as a safe place to call home. So much so, that many have cried when they stepped into the apartments to find such a beautiful safe haven.
“The community centre is a great space, is very unique and there is such a wide scope for its use. Our partner agencies are amazed with the setup, which they are finding perfect for delivering advice sessions, adult learning, and parenting courses. We are also starting to use the space for social events such as cinema evenings and afternoons for the children. We are really enjoying working at Ferry Road and find the site provides the clients with the perfect safe place alongside the space to have autonomy over how they live their lives as well as providing the staff with the ideal base to support the clients as they navigate from temporary to permanent accommodation.”
Jessica Ellwood, a supported accommodation worker who works for Cardiff Council at the new housing scheme at Ferry Road.
