Projects
Sanford Housing Co-operative
Filed under: Sustainable Design & Technology Lewisham
South London Street Goes Green
A Housing Co-operative in South London is about to finish an ambitious project to reduce CO2 emissions by 60%.
Sanford Housing Co-operative was initiated by a group of individuals in the late 1960s as a response to the need for affordable housing for young, single people in London. After negotiations with Lewisham Council, a street of 14 purpose-built Houses and 6 Studio Flats was designed and built on wasteland located at the confluence of the East London line, running parallel to the New Cross Gate branch. Each house was built to house 10 people, and each studio a couple, making a total of 152 places. The first single-street, purpose-built housing cooperative in the UK was finally inhabited in 1975.
Sanford is a non-profit making organisation, owned and run by the Residents for the Residents. All decisions are made democratically through a process of meetings to which every member has access and, via elected representatives, a vote.
In 2002, in response to the gradual breakdown of the 30+ year-old mechanical services and to the growing concerns of everyone regarding the threat of Climate Change, a number of Residents proposed that the street be refurbished, using renewable energy technologies — giving rise to the C60 Project (to reduce Carbon emissions by 60%). Various feasibility studies were conducted over the next 2 years, which led to the implementation of a strategy that combined solar thermal with biomass boilers (using wood waste pellets) for hot water and heating. The project was to incorporate solar PV and roof-mounted wind turbines, but poor local wind resource and roof orientation made these technologies inappropriate. Various fabric improvements were also needed, such as loft and cavity wall insulation, along with roof and wall wear-and-tear repairs.
At this point, J3 Building Futures were appointed as Project Managers and Sustainability Consultants to take the project to completion. Jason Hawkes, of J3 says: ‘This is a groundbreaking project that has been initiated by the Residents and shows what can be achieved by people who are empowered to make decisions about the way they live. To our knowledge, this is the first time an entire UK street has been retrofitted with renewable technologies in order to meet and exceed our Kyoto and 2050 carbon reduction targets’.
Over the course of the last year, gas boilers have been removed and replaced with 7 biomass boilers and 14 large solar thermal arrays. The nature of the street has meant that the original desire to have a community heating system was unfeasible. The utility sheds to the front of each house proved perfect for boiler cupboards, with silos to each pair of houses and each boiler thus supplies a hot water cylinder to two houses. For simplicity, the Solar thermal installation was installed to do the same job, and hot water can be supplied to both houses simultaneously, or to whichever cylinder is in most need.
An overarching sustainability strategy was applied to all works being carried out, which meant that all materials sourced are as sustainable as possible and as toxin-free as possible. All timber is FSC certified; failing PVC rainwater goods have been replaced with powder-coated steel, and all paint used is water-based rather than solvent-based. Waste and demolition rubble have been separated and sent off for recycling/reclamation. Rainwater butts have been fitted at strategic points around the street, and wall-mounted butts will now provide water for the extensive ponds and gardens. Wall cavities have been filled with insulation, and loft insulation has been renewed and deepened.
Inside the Houses, new thermostatically-controlled roof windows have been fitted to increase daylight penetration to the stairwells and landings and ensure adequate ventilation and night cooling can take place. The existing heating distribution system has been overhauled and flushed out to ensure that the new technologies can work as effectively as possible. Low energy lighting is now fitted throughout.
Initial calculations suggest that the 60% target will be reached, but only the monitoring of energy use for a year will confirm this. Heat and electricity monitors will shortly be installed to allow Residents to keep track of energy use, but also of heat energy produced by the solar and biomass technologies. They may also be used to foster an atmosphere of eco-competition, with potential prizes going to monthly low-energy winners. An Energy Strategy document is currently being written that aims to ensure the Co-op reduces carbon emissions by 80% before 2020 — well ahead of Government targets (60% by 2050) and scientific consensus (80% by 2030).
The final stage of the project is to replace all twenty of the 30-year-old well-worn kitchens in the street with ‘eco-kitchens’ that have been designed in conjunction with Sanford Residents. These shall incorporate recycled glass worktops and splashback tiles, highly-efficient appliances, low water-use fittings, natural flooring materials and solid FSC timber cabinets. Sanford are now also considering a Bike Shed built from Railway sleepers with a green roof, and a community building that could be built from straw bales or rammed earth.
Project finance support has come from EDF, EST, Bioenergy, Triodos Bank, LCBP and London Borough of Lewisham; but mostly from the resources of Sanford Housing Co-op.
Project management and sustainability consultants:
J3 Building Futures LLP www.j3buildingfutures.co.uk
Main contractor:
Vincent-Bennett Construction www.vbconstruction.co.uk
Solar thermal contractors:
Elemental www.forgeworks.biz
Biomass contractors:
Bioenergy Technology www.bioenergy.org
Eco-interiors www.ecointeriors-uk.com
Project Address
| J3 Building Futures LLP |
| Holborn |
| London |
| WC1X 8NW |