Liverpool based Architectural Practice Denovo Design used K Rend products in a development at Halifax Road, Rochdale, which secured two Green Apple Awards for the Environment, the most recent one being presented at a ceremony at the House of Commons on 10 November 2008. The project also secured a Gold Green Apple for the Built Environment Award, which was presented by Professor David Bellamy to the Client, Regenda, at a ceremony in June 2008.
David Duvall, Director of Denovo Design, a Liverpool based Architectural Practice, has been presented with a Silver International Green Apple Award for Environmental Best Practice and Sustainable Development, at a ceremony held at the House of Commons on Monday 10 November 2008. The Green Apple Awards, which attracted more than 500 nominations, are in their fifteenth year and represent a feeder scheme into the European Business Awards for the Environment.
David Duvall comments, "...Denovo support and promote the ideals and ideas of the Green Apple Organisation, and are very happy to receive recognition for these efforts. The real winners, however, are the users and owners of the completed buildings, with reduced bills and healthier environments".
Denovo Design's award-winning project, on behalf of the client, West Pennine Housing Association, part of the Regenda Group, is a regeneration housing scheme in Halifax Road, Rochdale. The scheme achieved a "Very Good" EcoHomes Rating, Secured by Design Accreditation and the Lifetime Homes Standard. Although designed specifically for the local Asian community - with accommodation over three levels including separate lounges and bathrooms - the project incorporated many eco-friendly technologies and products common to all the Practice's housing schemes.
Benefits to Residents include: -
Reduced heating/energy/water bills as a result of airtight construction from the thin-joint blockwork, high-levels of insulation in the walls, floors and roof; high-efficiency gas-fired boilers; low-water content wc's and radiators; low flow rate showers; spray taps to basins; rainwater butts; low energy light bulbs; large window areas to habitable rooms; sunpipes to internal landings and Velux roof windows to the rooms in the roofspace.
Easy to alter spaces, (as there are no load-bearing inner walls and the roof is self supporting), in the event of residents changing needs, as they get older.
Improved surroundings with a new access road; new car parking for adjacent residents; enhanced security through new fencing, bollards and lighting; new tree-planting and attractive gravel surfacing to the communal space at the rear of the development.
The creation of a comprehensive 'Tenants' Green Handbook', which highlights the many advantages of the environmentally-friendly construction of their new home and advice on how to live "green".
Benefits to the Environment as a Whole: -
Minimal damage to the site and removal of spoil to landfill through the use of piled foundations; and enhanced ecological value through new gardens to each house and new tree planting in the communal space.
Reduced fossil fuel consumption, greenhouse gas, acid gas, toxic fume emissions as a result of the specification of the works.
Reduced embodied energy required to build the scheme - and reduced waste - due to the use of prefabricated floors, roof, windows and doorsets.
The use of natural/ recyclable materials in construction, including galvanised mild steel gutters, railings and gates; timber floors, roof, windows and doors, internal joinery all from Certified FSC sources.
'Halifax Road' is the fourth housing development designed by Denovo Design that has achieved a Green Apple Award in the last three years celebrating the Practice's commitment to environmentally conscious design, which began in 1998 with the first "green" housing development on Merseyside, and which continues currently with an eco-regeneration project in Ashton-under-Lyne, incorporating the same technologies and products.