Case Studies

Sampson Close PassivHaus Scheme, Coventry

Architect: Bailey Garner

Sampson Close, Coventry, is a 23 home scheme being built on a brownfield site in north Coventry and combines a mix of terraced housing and apartments. It should become the first and largest social housing scheme in the Midlands to obtain PassivHaus Certification.

The concept behind passive housing originated in the 1990s and since then more than 17,000 homes have been built in accordance with the European passive housing standards, however in the United Kingdom only two homes have achieved PassivHaus Certification.

Originally conceived in 2008, Orbit devised the scheme as an opportunity to improve energy efficiency which would significantly reduce energy costs for occupiers; by more than 50 per cent.

Central to PassivHaus design is a very high level of airtightness. EH Smith helped the project team including the client, architect and contractor to get to grips with the airtightness detailing required on this flagship development.

With a target air leakage figure of 0.6 ach @50Pa (building regulations at the time allow for 10.0 ach @ 50pa) attention to detail was critical and a number of training sessions took place on site to ensure understanding across the team.

Contractor: Wates Living Space

Client: Orbit Heart of England / Orbit Homes

Products Used: Pro-clima Airtightness range