The new Passivhaus homes that we built for Powys County Council have been shortlisted in the Constructing Excellence Wales awards.
The scheme in Sarn is one of four to make the final of the Residential Property of the Year category and the winner will be revealed in a ceremony at Celtic Manor in Newport on June 17th.
The £1.3m development was the first social housing scheme to be built for the local authority in 30 years and the first ever Passivhaus homes.
It was developed by the council’s Affordable Housing Team and was part of the council’s Transformation Programme to deliver aspirations in Vision 2025 including to build 250 new homes by 2025.
The seven energy efficient homes — a mix of two-bedroom bungalows and two-bedroom and three-bedroom houses — were built using low energy construction methods and include sustainability features such as solar panels and mechanical heat ventilation recovery systems to reduce running costs for tenants.
Welsh-grown wood was used for the timber frame while cellulose fibre insulation, manufactured from recycled newspaper, was used to reduce the use of plastics.
The homes were designed by the Wales based Hughes Architects with support from Passivhaus experts PYC from Welshpool and consulting civil and structural engineers Bradley Associates Ltd from Cardiff.