DIGITAL WEBFORM 'TRACK DESKS'

As with every other part of Digital Webform the worker's desks are also versatile and adaptable. The desks all run on a track system, the partitions move up and down and the extra table space also pivots with movable drawing boards attached.


All white wall surfaces are covered in a wall covering, Wall Talk. This allows the designers to draw on the walls as they see fit. The walls act as an extension to their drawing boards.

DIGITAL WEBFORM - OFFICE

Liverpool - Final project

'RIBS' 
A versatile and adaptable space located on the top floor of a 7 storey office building in Liverpool's Baltic Triangle. Below the glazed space cage roof lies a curved I-Beam supporting a chain and hoist system. This system allows the 'Ribs' to move and rotate into almost any position.

'NEST'
Located between 3 storeys of the office building the 'Nest' is a secondary versatile space within Digital Webform's office building. The 'Nest' houses a large number of movable interlocking blocks that can be arranged to suit the needs of the occupant at that time. It is possible to arrange the 'Nest' as an auditorium, exhibition space, meeting room and conference space.

RESEARCH PROJECT - SUSTAINABILITY

TITLE

Assess whether the Code for Sustainable Homes can be utilised as an assessment method for historic buildings, basing the research on a 260-year-old Georgian farmhouse.

ABSTRACT

 In the Housing Strategy 2011 the Government recognises that homes  in the UK need to be well designed, of the highest quality and environmentally sustainable. This applies to both new and existing homes, which, where possible, should be more energy efficient and help to reduce carbon emissions, be resilient to a future climate and protect the natural environment. High quality homes in high quality natural environments will support plans for growth and are necessary for social, environmental and economic sustainability.

The aim of this research is to generate ratings based on The Code for Sustainable Homes (The Code) for a 260-year-old Georgian farm house, taking into account the energy consumption in construction, usage and operation and how that has changed throughout the 260 years. It will also seek to evaluate whether the Code should be amended to recognise the potential benefits for sustainability in the improvements of existing historic housing stock.

3 main assessment dates to be considered are: 

1760 - Original construction – Built entirely from local materials.

1950 - Extension to the original footprint and first installation of electricity and mains water.

2011 - After major refurbishment/repair and retrofit in 1991.

THIS RESEARCH PROJECT BECAME ACTION RESEARCH

CONCLUSION SUMMARY

The Code for Sustainable Homes gives very detailed guidance and encouragement for the building of new “sustainable” homes.  However its criteria and scoring provide no support for restoration and redevelopment of existing, particularly traditional, homes.

The results illustrate that a sensible common sense interpretation of the Code for Sustainable Homes show that the sensitive and careful redevelopment and retro fit of traditional residential buildings can be sustainable.  However a strict application of the Code’s criteria would show that traditional buildings are unsustainable compared to new construction.  Is this really the case or is it purely the result of the Code failing to adequately measure the long term sustainability of traditional buildings? The answer is, of course, not simple.  The Code is designed only for new construction, but if Government is seeking to encourage better design and increased sustainability in meeting its housing targets, does the Code skew the argument unfairly towards new residential construction.

Developers know very clearly the cost associated with the acquisition and development of green field sites. The renovation and retrofit of existing housing stock is more financially problematic. Sometimes there is a risk of ground contamination and there can be unexpected additional costs in the renovation of existing buildings. Just as the Government provides grants for the development of sustainable energy sources a proper evaluation of the benefits of renovating existing housing stock could lead to the reintroduction of government grants to remove the element of insecurity for private developers.

This research could therefore be extended by accessing each level of The Code against similar scale new build or retrofit projects and suggesting a mechanism for a parity between the two.