Springfield Place

Springfield Place comprises three-high quality, bespoke, affordable rented family homes within the conservation area of this attractive village in the Scottish Borders. It is the first completed houses from the Passivhoos team, a joint venture between JGA and Stewart & Shields Ltd, which aims to bring Passivhaus standard homes to the Scottish social housing market and in turn to eliminate fuel poverty and reduce carbon emissions. EHA were the first association to back this concept. In addition to Springfield Place, the Passivhoos team and EHA are ready to take a second project to site for 10 more rural homes. The project is a new build terrace on a compact site, including hard and soft landscaping. Completion was in April 2020.

This conservation area project embraces Scottish Borders Council PPG on Place Making and Design whilst enhancing the character and nature of its sensitive setting, meeting: • Housing for Varying Needs • Greener Homes Standard (Silver Aspects 1&2) • PassivHaus certified • Secured by Design Gold • Silver Active Standard The houses are arranged in a compact, two-storey terrace, finished in render and untreated larch, with a roof of conservation grade natural slate. Discussions with the local planners, led to a study of the local vernacular. Dormers and paired, recessed living room windows are simple contemporary expressions of this and lend domestic scale to each home, allowing the terrace to read as a small community of individuals, further emphasised by the subtle use of distinctive colours at front doors.

To secure Passivhaus certification the building is constructed to an extremely high standard, including: • Excellent insulation (400mm) and eliminating thermal bridging • Outstanding airtightness: recorded value of 0.3ach, minimising heat loss and improving comfort. • A small double-A rated Vaillant boiler, for hot water and top-up space heating via radiators.• Triple glazed windows throughout. • Mechanical Ventilation with up to 90% Heat Recovery (MVHR), providing a constant, healthy indoor environment.

Compared to standard houses these homes should require 90% less energy for space and water heating and have very low running costs. The calculated SAP is 86 and the Environmental Impact (CO2) Rating is 90. This year Eildon and JGA will work with residents to monitor building performance, maximising their low running costs and indoor air quality whilst providing vital, quantitative data for future projects.