Newport Social Housing Retrofit

If there’s one thing we’ve learned makes better buildings, it’s empathy. Architecture never happens in isolation—and simply by being interested and engaged, we’ve found it’s possible to open up the conversations that connect a scheme to its clients and community.

We believe that the more constraints there are, the better the architecture. If there aren’t any constraints, we create them. Challenging sites, existing buildings and complex briefs almost always present incredible opportunities for great design.

To limit our environmental impact, we start with what is already there. By manipulating the form and fabric of a building—whether new or existing—we can work with the existing conditions of topography, light and orientation, and harness the natural energy sources offered by air, ground and water.

If a site’s constraints guide the bigger design decisions, then it’s empathy that informs the smaller, social details. These details frame the human narratives that aren’t included in the brief, anticipating specific moments in the users’ lives.

Good architecture is as much about what happens on the building site as it is about what’s on the drawing board. By working alongside contractors as well as clients we can ring-fence the ideas and details that matter, championing quality and sustainability throughout construction.

Newport Housing Retrofit

Work Studio Activity News Contact

Work

Newport Housing
Newport, South Wales

Client

Newport City Homes

Download

> Housing brochure

We are working with Newport on a major retrofit project of 318 social-rent homes across 10 sites in South Wales. The sites all have existing ‘Easi-form’ housing stock constructed immediately after WWII with uninsulated load bearing concrete walls causing issues with thermal performance and internal condensation build up. We initiated the project with a retrofit first mindset, assessing each site on an individual basis and only proposing rebuild in a few instances where the condition of the block was not suitable for renovation.

The retrofit strategy targets improvements to resident’s private amenity space, with the addition of large south facing balconies, which will also shelter the blocks from excessive solar gain. Landscaping around the blocks will be improved with clearer circulation routes and the definition between public and private spaces demarcated. As part of the landscape strategy, a wide scale sustainable drainage scheme is envisaged with swales, ponds and rainwater gardens all used to hold rainwater on the sites.

The exterior of the blocks will be insulated using natural insulation products, with the existing render removed and the blocks re-clad, windows will also be replaced with triple glazing and the existing attic space will be super-insulated, providing a high performing thermal envelope which benefits residents’ well-being, health and heating bills. On the roof, photovoltaics will be fixed and heat generation will be supplemented through either ground or air source heat pumps.

Stepping inside the blocks, communal corridors will be updated, and refuse and cycling storage will be rationalised. The flats themselves will be altered to provide dual aspect living spaces, with the balconies providing a direct link to the improved landscape. Corridors connecting the living space to the front door will be added to improve the fire strategy and internal doors will be assessed for fire performance.

Our hope is that this tailored retrofit strategy will improve the lives of the residents, the local area and also the wider environment, whilst also preventing tons of unnecessary construction waste from filling up landfill sites.

Visuals copyright HAZE.