NEWS... BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
Saving the world was never part of the plan when Ben Spencer set up his own development company; what he and business partner Josh Gordon wanted to do was build some decent homes for first-time buyers and young families, and make a living for themselves at the same time.
Almost eight years later their company, gs8, has built around 700 flats and houses, but the development they are currently putting the finishing touches to will be something quite different.
The Arbour is a ‘carbon negative’ mews. Its homes will use less energy to run than they generate on site, resulting in zero fuel bills for their future owners and an imperceptible carbon footprint.
Throw in bathroom fittings made from recycled yoghurt pots, furniture made from recycled coffee grounds, and a communal foraging garden and you have got, quite possibly, a taste of how all new homes will be built in the future.
‘When we started building, we found that our residents and buyers had very little disposable income in the first couple of years of owning,’ says Ben, 32.
‘We thought it would be a nice incentive to offer homes with little or no bills. I didn’t have a clue about environmental issues and climate change at that time.’
This simple idea led Ben, the accidental eco-warrior, onto a steep learning curve. Today, phrases like ‘embedded carbon’ and ‘zero waste’ trip off his tongue, and over the last five years he and Josh have worked out how to build eco homes for about the same price as using conventional construction techniques.
Savings made by the extensive reuse of building materials and by using mostly raw finishes has made up for extra costs like the solar panels and air source heat pump, which provide clean energy.
And by teaming up with Jane Rockett and Lucy St George, founders of fashionable homewares brand Rockett St George, the homes don’t just do good, they look good, too, with walls clad in birch plywood, lime screed floors, and super high ceilings.
But while the future residents of The Arbour should be immune from some of the impact of the cost of living crisis it has to be said that while these homes are environmentally friendly they are not accessible to all.
Ben and Josh bought the site, just off Orford Road, Walthamstow, seven years ago. In the intervening period it has become the epicentre of fashionable Walthamstow Village, and local prices have soared.
As a result the two flats at The Arbour are priced at £800,000 and the eight houses from £995,000. Not that this has harmed sales.
So far, four of the homes have been reserved, in advance of the development being finished next month. And now they have a workable blueprint Ben and Josh plan to keep on building more. ‘We know it works now, and it is the right way to go,’ said Ben.
Before work could start, the small brick warehouse buildings on the site had to be demolished. Rather than send the ensuing rubble to landfill it has been reused: bricks and concrete blocks have been repurposed as foundations for the new homes, and steel beams used in the roof structure.
This reuse was not only cost-effective but there was no need for any skips on site as almost nothing was thrown away. The buildings were designed using standard sized timber beams and steels, meaning no need to cut them to size, and no waste.
Even the earth dug out of the site to create the foundations was reused. It was mixed with straw and pressed into moulds to create more than 30,000 pressed earth blocks which have been used to build the walls in between the houses.
These mellow blocks give the interiors plenty of texture and add to the industrial feel.
Much of the insulation is also made of wood fibres and excellent insulation means the homes should stay cool in summer with no need of air conditioning – during the current heatwave the show house was pleasantly cool while the thermometer rose to 35C outside.
The homes are powered entirely by electricity, with solar panels on the roof generating enough power to keep the homes going in spring and summer.
Excess electricity will be sold back to the grid so that when top-up power is needed over the winter it will be covered by ‘credits’ earned in the warmer month.
Scrap metal was welded into fixings for the timber frame of the houses, while reclaimed cobbles are used in their small private courtyard gardens.
To encourage the builders to generate less waste they were provided with water bottles, sandwich boxes, and bags when the work started – this encouraged them not to buy sandwiches and fizzy drinks, and has cut down on the amount of waste created during the project.
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Rockett St George commissioned a sustainable range of furniture for the property including side tables clad in marquetry made from used coffee grounds.
The panel in the walk-in shower is made from recycled yoghurt pots – if you look hard enough you can see the remains of their labels and bar codes – by Smile Plastics.
The kitchen worktops have a terrazzo marble vibe. But they have been created from wood shavings and chippings from the site by Foresso.
The carcasses of the kitchen cabinets and stair balustrades were built onsite using scrap timber from the roof.
The curvy designer light shade in the living room and a sculptural headboard in one of the bedrooms is also made from coffee grounds bound with charcoal by biomanufacturing company Biohm.
What looks like a smart green velvet sofa is in fact a sustainable sofa built with a wooden frame and upholstery made from recycled plastic bottles.
As well as private courtyards, the residents will have a community garden with fruit trees and vines to forage, and space for them to grow their own fruit and vegetables. They will also have an outdoor kitchen to cook in.
An on-site reuse centre will provide a space for residents to swap, share, and store infrequently used items.
All but one of the homes on the site will be car free – to compensate there will be an (electric, naturally) car club plus electric and traditional bikes to borrow.
Homes at The Arbour are priced from £800,000, via The Stow Brothers and Hamptons
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