DBK APPOINTED ON KEVIN McCLOUD’S FIRST HOUSING PROJECT
Construction, property and development consultancy DBK has been appointed as cost consultant, employer’s agent and CDM coordinator for Kevin McCloud’s much anticipated first housing development in Swindon.
Hab Oakus, the joint venture between Kevin McCloud’s development company Hab and housing group GreenSquare has recently secured planning permission for The Triangle, a 42-home scheme in Swindon. DBK is currently out to tender for the construction contract with a variety of build options being explored. The construction programme is expected to take approximately 12 months to complete, with work anticipated to start in early 2010. The build contract is scheduled to be awarded before the end of the year.
It is intended that The Triangle development will meet Level 4 of the Code for Sustainable Homes, but with the potential for upgrading to Level 5. The procurement process stipulates that the external walls of the new homes will be constructed using a timber framed lime and hemp walling, a system that is highly thermally efficient and absorbs CO2 in its manufacture. The UK grown hemp produces a walling material that has a very low U value, which will help The Triangle to achieve the Level 4 standard.
Andrew Kennedy, director at DBK comments: “The Triangle is a great project to be involved with, not only because it’s the first initiative by Kevin McCloud’s Hab development company, but also because of the way sustainability and community values have driven the whole design and procurement process.
“It’s rare for a scheme with only 42 homes to take such a proactive approach to sustainability. It will be exciting to see this ethos extended for future larger schemes that Hab Oakus is working on. They are setting out to raise standards by building well designed, environmentally friendly housing in provincial or suburban locations, whilst continuing to focus on the social and physical relationships between development projects and the wider community.”
The 0.84ha (2 acre) site, which is situated off Northern Road in Swindon, was formerly used for caravan storage. The scheme has been designed as a contemporary interpretation of the town’s mid-Victorian railway cottages. The development comprises 36 two, three and four bedroom houses and six apartments.