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Retrofit for the Future competition success
A team headed by White Design is one of 87 projects across the UK selected to test low carbon building technologies in the second stage of the Technology Strategy Board’s Retrofit for the Future programme. Science Minister Lord Drayson and Housing Minister John Healey announced the winners on 25 February as part of the government’s £17 million investment in new solutions to make the UK’s current housing stock more energy efficient.
In the initial design phase, over 190 organisations - including housing associations, architects and construction companies - received up to £20,000 each to carry out full feasibility studies and devise innovative proposals. The 87 second-stage winners have now been awarded development contracts to carry out retrofits on existing homes.
White Design drew together a retrofit team with a wide range of skills and experience to enter the competition, including Forum for the Future, Sustain, Sustrans, ROK and Arup. Working closely with our housing association partner, SHHA, a Bristol based social housing provider specialising in supported housing, we selected a traditionally constructed, “2-up 2-down” Victorian terraced property for our project. Our scheme aims to investigate how we can incorporate simple, robust, yet effective sustainable technologies which will encourage residents to engage with low carbon lifestyles.
