Brighton-based eco startup PassivPod won the coveted title of Construction Business of the Year at Friday’s National Best New Business Awards at the Millennium Gloucester Hotel in London.
And the accolades didn’t end there, as the new business also won the prestigious Overall Winner award, beating competition from all other industries – and 68 other new companies – represented at the ceremony.
At the forefront of the exciting new field of biophilic design, PassivPod is a modular zero-carbon building which can be used as holiday accommodation, a classroom, garden office or home: an innovative green solution for leisure, learning and living.
The elliptical pod-shaped building is powered by renewable energy, fabricated from entirely natural materials and has a gentle visual impact that blends into the natural landscape with minimal environmental effect.
PassivPod’s Technical Director Mark Pellant said: “We’re delighted to have won Construction Business of the Year and are especially proud to win such a highly competitive title as Overall Winner of the best new business nationally.
“Having worked as an architect specialising in sustainable design for the past two decades, it’s very encouraging to see the growing interest in sustainable construction and awareness of the problems associated with traditional construction practices.
“With three national awards under our belt in the last six months, we’re very positive about PassivPod’s continued success and excited for what the rest of 2018 brings.”
Growing evidence shows that spending time in nature has positive psychological and physiological effects which can be recreated in indoor environments that are rich in nature and nature-inspired features. Known as ‘biophilic’ design, PassivPod encapsulates these principles while retaining a high-end design aesthetic.
Commercial Director of PassivPod, Clive Bonny, said: “The construction industry needs much more focus on sustainability and environmental protection, and this national award supports our mission.
“The award also ensures awareness of our offer to sell shares in our business to the public via crowdfunding, in order to encourage wider ownership of healthy, zero carbon homes.”
Designed by award-winning Koru Architects, PassivPod began as a competition entry for the Sunday Times Eco-Haus Awards 2014 (for which it was shortlisted) and has recently won the Innovation in Sustainable Accommodation Award at the 2017/2018 Corporate LiveWire Technology Awards.
The team will shortly be launching a crowdfunding campaign to fund the construction of a PassivPod showroom which will also be used as an educational tool to demonstrate eco design and a sustainable lifestyle. Details of how to invest are at www.passivpod.co.uk
The National Best New Business Awards supports industrious, hardworking and enterprising small and medium enterprises nationally. Each application is scored by up to four different judges from a panel of up to 30 judges and all applications are seen by different members of the judging panel.