Building Information Modelling is notorious for helping achieve sustainability not only on-site, but also during the management of a project once developed. A home in The Wirral, UK objectifies that plus point in bucket loads.
Liverpool-based architecture practice John McCall Architects created a home for one of the company’s Directors Colin Usher. The dwelling has four bedrooms and cost £240,000. The Passivhaus design is obviously eco-friendly, utilising the likes of solar panels and a air-to-water air source heat pump (ASHP).
The best part about the home? It costs just £15 per year to run. We haven’t misplaced a 0.
BIM was utilised to ensure that Mr Usher had the best tool in-front of him to assist with the build and measure the best ways to proceed. Orientation, insulation, air tightness and thermal mass were all taken into account, with the model used to ensure those factors were at the forefront of each decision made throughout the lifecycle of the build.
The recent recipient of a Buildings and Energy Efficiency Awards trophy, Engineering.com report that Usher said upon acceptance: “We are delighted to have won this award because it proves eco homes don’t have to be over expensive or need to be conspicuously unconventional in appearance.”
We assume he’s delighted about his outgoings too!
The BBC recently covered the success of the house in a news report, which can be viewed below.