bere:architects, The Prince’s Foundation and Hastoe Housing Association alongside other valued team members, have collaborated to develop a low cost, traditional semi-detached Passivhaus, which was recently announced as the winning pair of demonstration houses to be built at the BRE’s Innovation Park at Watford.

The Chestnut House is an ultra-low energy, carefully proportioned Passivhaus inspired by traditional house design. It is extremely economical to build and provides an exemplary solution to an increasing demand by social housing providers and individual homeowners for low energy, cost efficient, easily-maintained and robust houses. The Chestnut House will be welcomed by planners and local communities who want housing that fits comfortably within existing townscapes and rural settings. This is housing that, possibly for the first time, acknowledges the sort of houses people want to live in today, whilst delivering the sort of houses people increasingly need to be living in tomorrow.

Working with Sturgis Carbon Profiling, the team has begun the process of optimising building elements to account for production, installation, maintenance, replacement and end of use, with the aim of creating the first whole life, truly zero carbon home. bere:architects firmly believe that Passivhaus technology is the best way to achieve these goals and The Chestnut House is poised to deliver a range of mass market ultra low energy housing units as detached, semis or terraces.

The Chestnut House will be built in BRE’s Innovation Park at Watford and offers a solution for beautiful, cost effective, low energy homes which can be built as large scale developments.

For further information visit www.bere.co.uk.