Carrowbreck Meadow is a development of 14 Passivhaus homes, the largest of its kind in Greater Norwich. This landmark scheme sets new benchmarks for sustainable development, not only meeting the demanding requirements of full Passivhaus certification but also by providing 43% of the site as affordable homes, an over provision of 10%.

The design response is a contemporary rendition of a well-established and local typology, a ‘Norfolk style’ –defined by a number of references to the historic barn vernacular seen throughout the county. A material pallet of white render, black stained timber cladding and either slate or plain red roof tiles also reflects the materials used in the adjacent Carrowbreck House.

The properties have been carefully grouped so the development sits comfortably in its woodland setting. The positioning and orientation of the homes maximises the access to solar gain in winter and prevents over heating in summer.

This project is innovative in its design, achieving full Passivhaus certification on a scale rarely seen in the UK, and a thermal bridge and draught free building envelope which exceeds regulations for airtightness five times over.

Fresh filtered air is provided to the homes, utilising a heat recovery system capable of achieving over 90% efficiencies. All homes have electric car charging points, rainwater butts and connection points for PV, and are compliant with the recommendations of the National Housing Standards Review.

The Passivhaus standard is internationally recognised as a leading low energy build standard, with monitoring showing they regularly exceed predictions. The scheme has created comfortable healthy homes which are affordable to run, eliminating fuel poverty, future proofing these homes for the demands of our changing climate. We are also providing a full Soft Landings service on this project, tracking the energy and comfort performance of these homes with an advanced web-based monitoring system, ensuring not only their optimum performance but the continual refinement and improvement of the buildings we deliver.

Click here to view the Carrowbreck Meadow monograph