First affordable eco-home goes up

THE FIRST affordable eco-home for the mass market took a step closer to reality earlier this month when the fourbedroom “Aurora” house type (a joint concept between South Lanarkshire College (SLC) and developers Dawn Homes Ltd) was erected by timber frame designers and manufacturers Oregon Timber Frame Ltd.

The location is on the campus of South Lanarkshire College in East Kilbride, Scotland, where this exciting and unique public-private partnership project, to construct an affordable low carbon ecohome - a first for the Scottish house building industry - is well underway.

Technical Director of Oregon, Robin Dodyk, explained the design approach taken by the company: “By understanding the key role that a highly insulated, airtight timber frame plays in meeting Code for Sustainable Homes standards, and designing the principles in right from the start, we have helped SLC and Dawn Homes, along with their 20+ other private sector partners, produce a house that is both low-carbon and commercially viable.”

During the design process Oregon drew on knowledge and experience gained from their earlier involvement in numerous research and construction projects on highly insulated frames (both open and closed options), air tightness and thermal bridging.

All of these are important factors in achieving highly efficient structures and the principles were incorporated in Oregon’s large panel / floor cassetted / roof on the deck / crane erect system, used in the creation of the “Aurora”.

A major driver for Oregon was to produce a product that could be manufactured in the company’s Selkirk factory and efficiently assembled on site, using readily available materials, all of which made a major contribution to cost effectiveness.

Mr Dodyk concluded: “By choosing to exploit fully the potential of timber frame, rather than simply relying on addon technology, this holistic project is expected to lead the way as an exemplar in providing affordable, sustainable housing for the volume social and private markets.”

The four-bedroom detached house is scalable, allowing smaller or larger properties and semidetached or terraced styles to be produced as the market demands.

As part of the project, Glasgow Caledonian University will be monitoring the house to provide live data, evidencing the effectiveness of the eco-friendly design. As well as providing a pilot for affordable eco-housing, the Aurora house will also act as a training venue for students of building technologies at SLC.

Oregon is currently working on projects in both the public and private sectors up and down the UK, including various pilot projects for Code for Sustainable Homes, as they help house builders realise the full benefits of Timber Frame construction.

Based in Selkirk in the Scottish Borders, Oregon has the capacity to produce 6000 units per year and has both FSC and PEFC Chain of Custody certification for timber sourcing.