INCORPORATING SUSTAINABILITY
Ian was determined not to compromise as he’s forced to do all too often in his day job, the result is a home full of personality.
aggregate, a secondary lightweight aggregate thatwe had specified in previous projects, tomake the concrete for the ICF system. LYTAG lightweight aggregate
ismanufactured frompulverised fuel ash, a by-product of coal-fired power generation and it is often used in the place of traditional, quarried aggregate. It is a secondarymaterial, so specifying the lightweight aggregate not only meant that the pulverised fuel ash is used rather than being sent to landfill, but also that the need for quarried aggregatewas avoided. Using thematerialwas therefore fitting as part of our commitment tominimising the environmental impact of building our home. A tried-and-testedmaterial,
sustainability and efficiency advantages. Aswell as cutting our carbon footprint, the energy generated by the solar panels covers all our electricity needs and provides uswith financial payback through the Feed-in- Tariff scheme. In addition, the building
includes a solar hotwater system, and a rainwater storage and harvesting systemfor efficient and economical use ofwater, cutting demand onwater reserves aswell as reducingwater bills. There is a grey-water recycling systemfor recycling bathroomwater for use in the garden. These features have all contributed to the building’s award of Code for Sustainable Homes Level Four. But it is not just the
environmental credentials that have been central to the project – ultimately,we have been creating a home for our family.We designed the 2,500sqft house in Russell GardensMews to give as great a feeling of space as possible,while creating a home completely tailored to the needs andwishes of our family. The finished result is unique, and includes a number of atypical features,which trulymake the building our
home.As an example, the lower ground level includes a back-lit, colour- changing dance floor, aswell as a wellness studio including a sauna. We have designed the large basement leisure area to be wrapped around a courtyard that contains a fish-pond andwaterfall. The ground level kitchen-diner opens up to the garden to maximise the natural light and enhance the feeling of space, and our teenage daughter’s roomhas
lighting that changes colour. Both the building design and the decor showthemerging of a variety of creative inspirations, fromthe influence ofmusic heroes to the works of admired artists. We chose building systems and
materials that both improved the home’s sustainability credentials while also playing a key role in delivering to our design requirements.One example is the cellular glass insulation thatwas used to deliver high building envelope performance in linewith our PassivHaus design. Manufactured fromcrushed glass and carbon, this further improves the house’s environmental credentials. Another prime example of
choosing an approach tomarry performance, design and sustainability is our use of an Insulating Concrete Formwork (ICF) systemin the superstructure – an insulated in-situ concrete systemof building, based on hollowlightweight block components that lock together to provide a formwork systeminto which concrete is poured. Using the ICF systemhelped us to achieve a very lowrate of heat loss – improving the energy efficiency of our home – aswell as being quick to erect and cost effective. The ICF systemalso needed to
be suitable for construction immediately next to both Network Rail and London Underground lines. Any risk of spillage of concrete onto the railway lines – for example due to a build up of pressure – had to be avoided as a priority. To help meet these requirements in a sustainableway,we used LYTAG
ArchitectNews.co.uk | Architects Choice | 21
LYTAG lightweight aggregate has been used in some of the UK’smost high profile buildings, such as The Gherkin and One Hyde Park. Aswell as being a key part of the ICF system,we also used the lightweight aggregate to create polished concrete desks, with exposed concrete to create unusual patterns and designs. In addition to playing an important part in our
commitment to improving the environmental impact of our home, thismaterial has helped us to achieve the designswe envisaged fromthe start of the project. Using LYTAG lightweight aggregate tomake concrete in the place of traditional aggregate creates a lighter concretewhich has similar levels of structural integrity. Thismeans that it effectively helps overcome design and engineering problems caused by theweight of traditional concrete. This lightweight but strong quality in the concrete has helped us to build our homewith the big, open spans that are key to the feeling of space that has been so important to us to create. Using a combination of both
tried-and-tested approaches and materials, aswell as cutting edge technologies, has been key to overcoming the challengeswe faced in building Russell Gardens Mews. This approach has also been amajor factor in staying true to our commitment to meeting our design requirements while alsominimising the environmental impact of building – and living in – our home.
Huge sliding doors open fromthe kitchen on to the garden, which features coloured walls inspired
by the work ofMexican architect Luis Barragán.
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