Station Road Eco Homes, Bedfordshire

Sustainable Backland Development

Background

e-gg was asked to design a cluster of six contemporary cottages that continues an emerging pattern of backland development along Station Road in Lower Stondon.

A mix of 3- and 4-bed homes, the development was granted planning permission in 2025.

Status
Planning secured in 2025
Approach

Passive design principles with local character

We developed the proposed site strategy and individual homes in accordance with passive design principles and the energy hierarchy to minimise operational energy.

Inspired by the higher-quality and heritage buildings in the area, we proposed a contemporary take on the traditional farmhouse cottage. This follows the local character of shallow building forms with plain, clay-tiled pitched roofs and pale rendered facades.

Layouts, elevations and building form balance active frontage and views out with privacy and optimal solar orientation. Primary living areas are concentrated on south-facing facades with larger glazing ratios (30%) to benefit from abundant daylight and winter solar gain. Over-sailing eaves and dormer frames provide shading to avoid summer overheating.Non-habitable rooms are concentrated centrally in plan, or on northern facades with a lower glazing ratio (10-15%) to minimise heat losses through the building fabric.

Triple-glazed timber-framed windows will be recessed to increase depth across the facade and provide shading, with a timber-framed construction proposed, to minimise embodied carbon. On-site renewable energy generation is proposed in the form of photovoltaic panels (PVs) on the south-facing roofs. The buildings will be finished with a pale, natural, hemp- or cork-based render.

Outcome

All homes are fossil fuel free, very highly insulated and extremely air-tight, in line with LETI best practice for detached dwellings. Air source heat pumps will provide low carbon energy for heating. Background ventilation will be provided by efficient mechanical ventilation with heat recovery, combined with opening windows for natural purge ventilation.

Waster Water Heat Recovery systems are proposed to optimise efficient use of energy. Water use is to be limited to <75l per person per day, with rainwater harvesting systems introduced where practicable. Daylight modelling has informed the window design, with good levels of natural daylight provided throughout to minimise the lighting demand.

The landscape has been designed to incorporate sustainable drainage, with resilient native planting proposed to enhance the setting, both visually and ecologically.