Blog: SECBE Awards 2021 finalist - BowTieSprong Treadgold House

31 May 2021

sponsored by Willmott Dixon

BowTieSprong Treadgold House, London (Bow Tie Construction & Osborne Property Services)

Sustainability SECBE Award 2021 finalist

TreadGold House (block of 38 apartments) managed by The Lancaster West Estate Neighbourhood Team (LWNT) will be the UK’s first net zero carbon multi-unit building retrofit. 

It will self-generate enough electricity (annually) to power its hot water and heating systems for all individual units and communal areas. This will be achieved by a large solar array, batteries, air source heat pumps and heat recovery ventilation units. This installation will eliminate carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide emissions (NOX). The retrofit will reduce the heat demand of the building by a factor of 47.

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) is a forward-thinking council that has set a climate emergency action plan for the Lancaster West estate to be Net Zero Carbon by 2030, becoming a model estate for the 21^st Century. The UK’s Climate Change Act 2019 requires all buildings to be Net Zero Carbon by 2050 yet there is no government roadmap to achieve this. Bow Tie Construction is funded by the EU and Innovate UK to R&D this retrofit system titled ‘BowTieSprong’ which will enable RBKC to meet its Net Zero Carbon objective. The project was balloted to residents and received near-unanimous backing. These residents know their views are central to the co-design process.

From the commencement of the R&D process, they engaged weekly with the LWNT, Building Control and residents through workshops, presentations and Q&A sessions. LWNT stated they wanted residents to have the final say in approving the retrofit and its ingredients. Resident engagement and resident experience have been at the core of their offering and was inspired by permaculture principles: Earth care, people care and fair shares. The participants are directly contributing to making their estate a nicer place to live for all, now and in the future.

Benefits of The BowTieSprong retrofit:

• Elimination of fuel poverty for residents - apartments will never fall below 19 degrees even without active heating.
• Increased amenity space - renovated balconies to double the size of existing.
• Lower cost of energy for residents.
• Gas removed to eliminate standing charge, safety issues and maintenance costs.
• Zero Carbon and NOX emissions going forward.
• Resident co-design of the retrofit with input on landscaping, playspaces and volunteer activities such as germinating seeds to seedlings which grow to maturity on resident balconies.

This project will be delivered by Osborne and Bow Tie Construction’s strategic partnership. With Osborne cashflowing projects and providing labour and materials, Bow Tie will be responsible for design, training, quality assurance and post occupancy monitoring. Osborne’s extensive experience embedded with local authorities & housing associations lowers client risk levels and increases the potential reach of the build system.

Key facts:

• Resident experience kept at the heart of the offering, secured their vote in favour of the project. 87% of block residents voted in favour of the net-zero carbon retrofit.
• Hitting Carbon Zero through fabric first energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. The project exceeds extremely rigorous Passivhaus requirements. 
• Partnership between Bow Tie & Osborne offers client security and reduces risk. Dynamic innovation twinned with being in business for over 100 years.

• Client: Lancaster West Estate 
• Project partners: Bow Tie Construction and Osborne Property Services Limited

About the Sustainability Award: 

High environmental and climate performance in construction aims to meet present day needs for housing, working environments and infrastructure without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs in times to come. It seeks to limit impact on the natural environment and demonstrate whole life sustainability. It is most effective when organisational culture, high design quality, technical innovation and transferability are abundant. More info.

Find out who wins at the Constructing Excellence SECBE Awards 2021 Summit & Awards Ceremony on Thurs 1st July 2021. Free attendance.