Living
Villages, the developer of The Wintles and a number of other similar
projects in the U.K., works on the principle that sustainability is
achieved through the way in which homes are clustered and interact –
it is the external and internal spaces of individual homes that
influence community, people and relationships and, therefore, the
way in which resources are used. The company believes that by
engaging in their community, people are more likely to live in a way
that benefits society both socially and environmentally and that
this is key to reducing carbon emissions.
Living Villages began life as The Living Village
Trust, set up in 1994 with the aim of researching and building
houses and neighborhoods that are both eco-friendly and convivial to
live in. The Trust actively researches how to design inspiring
places by looking at successful examples around the world, new and
old, which have the qualities that matter to it. Living Villages
Holdings (LVH) was established in 2006 to create Living Villages
schemes nationally in response to huge public and industry interest.
Sustainable Construction
Each of the homes at The Wintles is built facing
towards the sun and, to draw in and trap as much light and solar
energy as possible, large, high performance, double- or
triple-glazed argon-filled windows. There are interior “sun spaces”
and inside balconies so that with the sunlight flooding into the
homes and their warm, dry interiors, residents feel like they’re
living in a Mediterranean climate. This contributes to the sense of
well-being, creativity and comfort that residents claim to
experience.
To keep heat within the highly draft-proof
building envelope, a 300mm thick layer of “Warmcel” insulation,
produced from recycled newspapers, is vacuum-packed into a membrane
in the wall cavities.
When the houses are occupied and functioning as
busy family homes, they require very little energy for heating and
are designed to maximize its effectiveness when it is used. Should
it be necessary, heat is released into the home by means of
gas-fueled underfloor heating in the areas where it is most needed,
such as living rooms and bathrooms. It then permeates upwards
through the less frequently used areas, like the bedrooms, which are
unheated by any direct means. This general principle has been called
“the thermal onion,” meaning that heat is released into the centre
of the onion and gradually moves outwards, thus heating the outer
layers to a lesser extent – and the outer layers serving to insulate
the inner. For those who like a real fire in the winter, flues are
installed for wood-burning stoves.
Heat recovery systems extract the warm, moist air
from bathrooms and kitchens and collect the heat. The stale air is
vented outside while the collected heat is transferred....
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