Phoenix completes Passivhaus, affordable rent homes at Farmstead Road, Bellingham
Phoenix delivers its second scheme in Lewisham which meets the highly sustainable, low energy building standard. This will reduce residents' energy bills and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Phoenix Community Housing held a completion event welcoming residents into their new homes at Farmstead Road, Bellingham on 23 September.
The scheme provides 18 homes at London Affordable Rent and six homes as London Shared Ownership, under the Homes for Londoners programme.
The new homes meet the highly sustainable "Passivhaus" standard - an internationally recognised benchmark that aims to address fuel poverty and reduce climate impacts from heating and other energy use.
Passivhaus low energy building standard homes have very high levels of insulation, which means that residents will notice benefits such as lower energy bills.
The thermal insulation is achieved through enhanced wall insulation and triple glazed windows. The "building envelopes" - foundations, exterior walls, roof, windows and doors - are also highly airtight, this eliminates draughts and reduces the energy demand for heating.
Each home has a mechanical ventilation and heat recovery unit, this is a controlled ventilation system with high quality filters, highly efficient heat recovery and low electricity consumption, which aims to ensure excellent indoor air quality with low energy consumption.
The scheme was designed by Metropolitan Workshop in the style of the historic post-war estate, and won the 2023 Housing Design Awards for its sustainable "fabric first" design.
Phoenix Community Housing Chief Executive, Denise Fowler, said: “It was fantastic to welcome residents into their new homes and to celebrate the completion of this beautifully designed scheme ..
“This is our second Passivhaus housing scheme which means the homes are some of the most sustainable we’ve ever built, supporting our residents to live in comfort all year round.”
David Norman, Managing Director of Buxton Building Contractors Ltd, said: "Buxton are proud to have delivered the Project for Phoenix Community Housing, providing high quality, sustainable homes for their residents, whilst also supporting wider community social value criteria during the course of the development."
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Phoenix recently completed Lewisham's first Passivhaus housing scheme, built to highly sustainable low energy building standards, at Melfield Gardens in South Catford.
The intergenerational housing scheme is the first of its kind in the country and won the GLA award at the 2021 Housing Design Awards.
Working in partnership with Goldsmiths, University of London, the scheme provides 30 affordable homes for people over 55, alongside two four-bedroom flats for Goldsmiths students.
It offers the students lower cost, high quality accommodation in return for the students offering volunteer time to their neighbours.
One of the aim of the scheme is to positively improve health outcomes for older people including tackling loneliness and isolation, as well as benefitting students through making a positive contribution to their community.
Denise Fowler said: “Many of the residents who have moved into the new homes were previously living in larger Phoenix properties, with more bedrooms than they required, so this is freeing up homes for families who desperately need them."
The Farmstead Road and Melfield Gardens schemes form part of Phoenix's plan to deliver 200 homes by 2028.
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