Stories Mews
Download
as PDF Stories Mews 2 in Camberwell, London by Trust members RDA Architects has been certified by the BRE. Stories Mews 2 is a modern town house with an artists studio, replacing the garage to the rear of the clients existing house. The floor plan offers the utmost flexibility so that the studio can be completely annexed from the living areas if the artist-client decides to let the house. Stringent guidelines from local planners demanded a showpiece faade but without an imposing mass. RDA has provided drama with sliding wooden shutters hung from an exposed steel beam that spans the frontage, and used glass blocks for smaller areas of interest.
Stories Mews : Project images
Click on image to preview full size
Energy and fuel use
Measured data from renewable generation is not yet available.
Fuel use
| Pre-development | Forecast | Measured | |
| Electricity use | - | - | - |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural gas use | - | - | - |
| Oil use | - | - | - |
| LPG use | - | - | - |
| Wood use | - | - | - |
| Other Fuel | - | - | - |
| Pre-development | Forecast | Measured | |
| Primary energy requirement | - | - | - |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual CO₂ emissions | - | - | - |
| Annual space heat demand | - | - | - |
Renewable energy
| Electricity generation | Forecast | Measured |
|---|---|---|
| Renewables Technology | - | - |
| Other Renewables Tech | - | - |
| Electricity consumed by generation | - | - |
| Primary energy requirement offset by renewable generation | - | - |
| Annual CO₂ emissions offset by renewable generation | - | - |
Calculation and targets
| Whole house energy calculation method | |
|---|---|
| Other whole house calculation method | - |
| Energy target | PassivHaus |
| Other energy targets | - |
| Forecast heating load | - |
Airtightness
| Date | Result | |
| Pre-development air permeability test | - | - |
|---|---|---|
| Final air permeability test | - | - |
Project description
| Stage | Occupied |
|---|---|
| Start date | 16 January 2012 |
| Occupation date | 02 January 2013 |
| Location | Camberwell London England |
| Build type | New build |
| Building sector | Private Residential |
| Property type | Mid Terrace |
| Construction type | Other |
| Other construction type | Kingspan TEK panel with internal insulation |
| Party wall construction | Masonry |
| Floor area | 130 m² |
| Floor area calculation method | Treated Floor Area (PHPP) |
| Building certification |  Passivhaus certified building |
Project Team
| Organisation | RDA Architects |
|---|---|
| Project lead person | RDA Architects |
| Landlord or Client | Rachel & Bob Stone |
| Architect | RDA Architects |
| Mechanical & electrical consultant | RDA Architects, Green Building Store |
| Energy consultant | RDA Architects |
| Structural engineer | John Mason & Partner Engineers |
| Quantity surveyor | |
| Consultant | MVHR- Green Building Store |
| Contractor | PRS Builders ltd, Thomas Carter Ltd |
Design strategies
| Planned occupancy | The brief from the clients was to provide a flexible house and artists studio which could be used in multiple configurations. The development is located on the site of a former stable building on a mews to the rear of a sprawling Georgian house, the clients current residence. Both the clients are artists and occupy teaching positions at local institutions. With older children, they felt that the original house had become expensive to maintain and no longer accommodated their needs. The idea of developing a low energy mews house was suggested and the brief was further developed throughout the planning and conservation process. The original brief included a double height artists studio within a 2 bedroom mews house. Garage space was provided for a small electric vehicle or city car and for bicycle storage. |
|---|---|
| Space heating strategy | The original proposal for satisfying the peak heating load, was to connect a system boiler to a post air heating unit in the MVHR system. After discussions with the Green Building Store, the decision was made to simplify the system in view of possible maintenance issues. The installed system consists of a combi boiler feeding two heated towel rails in the wet rooms and two narrow vertical radiators in the lounge and studio with the MVHR managing ventilation only. |
| Water heating strategy | |
| Fuel strategy | |
| Renewable energy strategy | Not applicable |
| Passive Solar strategy | Not applicable |
| Space cooling strategy | Not applicable |
| Daylighting strategy | |
| Ventilation strategy | |
| Airtightness strategy | The airtight layer was proposed as the inside face of the SIPs, the plywood roof decking and the floor screed. The SIPs subcontractor was instructed to install internal airtightness membranes to the timber framed wall and wrap around membranes to the floor and roof plates to ensure the airtight layer of the SIPs would not be compromised. On completion of the SIPs superstructure an air test was commissioned to ascertain the level of airtightness of the superstructure prior to installation of the window and internal finishes. It was intended that this would provide early warning of any breaches in the airtightlayer and avoid any disputes between the main contractor and subcontractor. The initial airtest result was 0.59 air changes per hour which was considered to be quite a good outcome given the lack of experience on the part of the contractors in Passivhaus construction. Later air tests, undertaken after the windows and internal finishes were installed saw a similar result. |
| Strategy for minimising thermal bridges | Owing to the adoption of internal insulation thermal bridging analysis was undertaken using THERM on a number of difficult junctions to ascertain their performance. |
| Modelling strategy | The house was designed using the PHPP and thermal bridging analysis was done using THERM. |
| Insulation strategy | The use of SIPs provided a solid base for passing the airtightness requirement, but additional insulation was required to achieve the required u-values to meet the specific space heating demand. Initial proposals involved additional external insulation; this proved to be unworkable at the time due to issues with BBA certification of the system. The garage was designed as a cold space and insulation was to be applied to the external side of the garage walls and ceilings.Once construction began, a number of additional issues became apparent. Areas of the foundation had to be modified to fit around existing obstructions. To compensate for lost fabric thickness, higher performance insulation was installed. The FoamGlas thermal breaks specified to the foundations was omitted in lieu of aircrete blocks as the product did not possess sufficient strength for the SIPs panel fixings. |
| Other relevant retrofit strategies | Not applicable |
| Contextual information | The site is located in an area of historic value, the mews itself is privately owned, unpaved and served houses and former stables to the rear of properties on adjacent streets. This historical context presented a number of challenges in terms of achieving the approval of the design and conservation department at Southwark Council and the Camberwell society. The presiding view was that Stories Mews, had undergone a series of inappropriate developments. The council expectation, in the case of this project, was for a greater level of sensitivity in the treatment of the external elements. In response, the design was modified during planning to present an industrial aesthetic more akin to the former function of the area. Heritage materials were utilised for the exterior whilst a modern Structural Insulated Panel (SIPs) superstructure was employed to fulfil insulation and airtightness requirements. Refer to figure 1, indicating proposed street elevation. |
Building services
| Occupancy | |
|---|---|
| Space heating | |
| Hot water | |
| Ventilation | |
| Controls | |
| Cooking | |
| Lighting | |
| Appliances | |
| Renewable energy generation system | |
| Strategy for minimising thermal bridges |
Building construction
| Storeys | |
|---|---|
| Volume | - |
| Thermal fabric area | - |
| Roof description | |
| Roof U-value | - |
| Walls description | |
| Walls U-value | - |
| Party walls description | |
| Party walls U-value | - |
| Floor description | |
| Floor U-value | - |
| Glazed doors description | |
| Glazed doors U-value | - - |
| Opaque doors description | |
| Opaque doors U-value | - - |
| Windows description | |
| Windows U-value | - - |
| Windows energy transmittance (G-value) | - |
| Windows light transmittance | - |
| Rooflights description | |
| Rooflights light transmittance | - |
| Rooflights U-value | - |