Housing 21 completes England's largest net zero volumetric retirement living scheme
Housing 21 has completed Patent House and Patent Walk in Doncaster – England’s largest net zero volumetric Retirement Living scheme.
Built offsite at M-AR’s factory in Hull, the scheme adopts Housing 21’s ‘low carbon specification’ to meet the Future Homes Standard and 2050 net zero targets.
It’s the third modular project delivered for Housing 21 by M-AR with Henry Riley acting as Employer’s Agent and Modular Consultant. Supported with funding from Doncaster Council and Homes England, the scheme will enable people aged 55 and over to live independently within a community setting.
Comprising a total of 64 volumetric modules to provide a total of 20 homes, the scheme includes eight two-bedroom bungalows, as well as a three-storey building featuring six one-bedroom and six two-bedroom apartments – all available for social rent.
Residents will also be able to enjoy the facilities at another Housing 21 scheme, Minden Court, located adjacent to Patent House and Patent Walk. Minden Court has a spacious communal lounge, which was renovated in 2017 and is surrounded by extensive open-plan gardens featuring outdoor seating.
Boasting several green credentials, photovoltaic (PV) panels have been installed on the new Retirement Living complex as well as on the roof of Minden Court to increase energy production for the wider scheme.
In addition, the scheme benefits from high insulation values and airtightness of the modules, the installation of water heaters with integrated air source heat pumps (ASHP), and mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) to maximise efficiency and reduce running costs for residents.
Electric vehicle (EV) charging points have also been provided for residents as well as additional landscaped areas and private gardens.
Offsite construction methods played a significant role in enabling Housing 21 to meet its net zero ambitions for the scheme due to the level of build accuracy that can be achieved through the highly controlled factory environment and precision engineering.
Following circular economy principles, M-AR also ensured any waste generated on the production line was either recycled or reused. The module frames are fabricated from volumetric lightweight steel, which can be easily recycled at the end of the building’s life.
Tony Tench, deputy chief executive at Housing 21, said:
“This has been an incredibly exciting project for us to deliver. We had a very clear objective for developing this scheme. Not only did we want to provide an entirely affordable Retirement Living complex, but we wanted to ensure it could achieve net zero in terms of operational carbon so that we can keep energy costs as low as possible for our future residents.
“While we look forward to welcoming our new residents, we are already looking ahead and have put in place a year-long programme to accurately monitor the energy use of these new homes. This will be reviewed alongside another traditionally built scheme, so we can capture data that will further shape net zero homes of the future.”
Ryan Geldard, director at M-AR, added:
“We’re passionate about the benefits of offsite construction from an environmental, cost and efficiency perspective and this scheme ticks all these boxes. Working closely with partners like Housing 21 who take a visionary approach to delivery is really important as it allows us to collaboratively unlock the potential of offsite.
“Patent Walk and Patent House are genuinely affordable, energy efficient homes for residents to enjoy today and the research being undertaken here could ultimately shape how we build energy efficient homes in the future. We’re proud to have played our part in building tomorrow’s homes today together with Housing 21.”
Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Housing and Business, Cllr Glyn Jones, said:
“Affordable, energy efficient housing is a high priority for Doncaster, and I am delighted to welcome this exciting project. I hope that those who are moving into this setting thoroughly enjoy the facilities on offer and I want to thank the team at Housing 21 for their efforts in seeing this project through to this exciting stage.”
Dan Macpherson, executive director at Henry Riley added:
“We’re really proud to have been involved in the delivery of the scheme and we’re excited to manage the energy monitoring over the next twelve months. The results will be used to inform future designs and specifications for this much needed and invaluable housing for older people. The benefits of modular construction (Category 1 MMC) have been well leveraged on the project. It’s great that all the benefits we speak and write about, are actually demonstrated on a live project.”
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