One Earth Homes, Upton, Northampton
The site
MHP's One Earth Homes are an exemplary scheme of six 'zero carbon' homes that form part of the Upton development in Northampton. They exceed the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) design guide requirements for the development and were the first homes in the UK to achieve Level 6 of the Code for Sustainable Homes.
The initial One Earth Homes design was already demonstrating a very high level of energy efficiency and presented an excellent opportunity for MHP to create a welcoming terrace of mixed tenure homes that could incorporate new technologies into the build.
It is the HCA's intention that Upton demonstrates the application of sustainable energy technologies and meets high standards of urban design, achieving Ecohomes 'Excellent' throughout the site as set out in the design guide that formed part of the tender.
The scheme
The six three-bedroom homes were designed by eco-architecture firm Zedfactory and built using the RuralZed system to deliver a low cost, low density environmentally responsible housing scheme.
Some of the environmental design features include: wind cowls, green roofs, photovoltaic and solar thermal panels, highly insulated walls, biomass communal heating, thermally dense concrete eco-tiles, rain water harvesting for toilets and washing machines, water butts and compost bins.
The deal
MHP is one of four developers that won the initial site tender, and will deliver 345 of the 1,020 homes planned for Upton.
MHP worked closely with the HCA, Zedfactory, Mansells, Davis Langdon and Arup to develop the six zero carbon homes. The final cost to increase the standard achieved from Ecohomes 'Excellent' to Code for Sustainable Homes level 6 was £26,500 per unit.
