A project to design energy-efficient housing has received a £4.6m award from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).
Researchers from Bristol, Bath, Cardiff and Exeter universities will work with industry, community groups and local authorities to transform existing housing into ‘beyond net zero’ liveable homes as part of the Green Transition Ecosystem awards.
Green Transition Ecosystems (GTEs) are large-scale projects that focus on translating the best design-led research into real-world benefits. GTEs are the flagship funding strand of the £25m Future Observatory: Design the Green Transition programme, funded by the AHRC and delivered in partnership with the Design Museum.
The team will design, test, implement and monitor innovative prototype bio-based lower carbon solutions to improve the energy efficiency and resilience of housing, and evaluate their performance compared to traditional synthetic materials. The goal is to create scalable and transferable designs and solutions to retrofit a greater number of houses and different house types.
Bio-based materials are derived from renewable resources, such as crops, mycelium, cork and wood, and have the potential to significantly reduce carbon emissions and environmental impact. Non-extractive materials are derived from a supply chain based on circular reuse and recycling of waste. As well as environmental benefits, bio-based products and systems offer energy efficient, healthy, and sustainable improvements to existing homes.
The project will also demonstrate bio-based solutions across a small number of traditional brick-built houses in Bristol and Swansea, constructed by councils between 1920-1940. These account for approximately 1.1 million of the homes occupied in the UK today and are generally viewed as one of the more challenging styles of houses to retrofit.
Eleni Toumpanaki, Senior Lecturer in Civil Engineering at the University of Bristol, said:
To tackle climate change and fuel poverty, a multidisciplinary approach is required by connecting environmental, social and technical sciences and putting local communities at the forefront of the decisions. Training and upskilling current and future generations are critical for beyond net zero solutions. I am excited to be part of a wide and diverse community that addresses the key current challenge of energy retrofit of the existing building stock through a holistic approach and by focusing on bio-based materials.
Professor Pete Walker at the University of Bath, and project lead, said:
It is not enough to simply implement design solutions, we need to create comfortable liveable homes that are resilient to climate change and will withstand future weather events. Our design process will embed community participation at its centre by creating spaces for co-developing knowledge, sharing experiences, and reshaping designs for Beyond Net Zero homes.
Our innovative solutions will use bio-based and non-extractive materials together with renewable energy supply and storage. We will explore the impact of these materials not only on achieving Net Zero design but also the potential impact on residents’ comfort and wellbeing.
Professor Jo Patterson at Cardiff University, said:
This project evolved from a GW4 research community, and would not have been possible without the support of the GW4 Alliance. I am excited to be part of a team that will expand on that research, working with colleagues across the alliance and alongside new regional partners to transform existing housing by working with, and for, communities.
The project brings together expertise from architecture, engineering, social sciences, and sustainability and will work with a range of partners; Woodknowledge Wales, The Alliance for Sustainable Building Products, Mikhail Riches Architect, timber frame manufactures Sevenoaks Modular Limited, Swansea Council and WeCanMake, a community land trust based in Bristol.
This award is part of the Future Observatory: Design the Green Transition programme, the largest publicly funded design research and innovation programme in the UK. Funded by AHRC in partnership with Future Observatory at the Design Museum, this £25m multimodal investment aims to bring design researchers, universities, and businesses together to catalyse the transition to net zero and a green economy.
The project will run for 24 months and aims to deliver a green transformation, fostering a legacy of positive behaviour change, supporting local and regional supply chains, and strengthening local delivery capacities.
The project team will communicate their research findings through educational and wider community engagement, in partnership with the Future Observatory, and will develop and deliver training to reduce the design skills gap in retrofitting.
