The Summit House™
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See the house being builtA short animation illustrating the final stages of the house construction is available to view as an AVI file (5MB). A page showing the interior views of the townhouse is also available. |
English Partnerships’ Summit House was designed as a three-storey, end-of-terrace home. This style of house has grown in popularity since the introduction of Planning Policy Guidance Note 3 (PPG3), calling for higher quality, higher density developments which create a greater sense of place and a unique identity. It is also known to be the most challenging to housebuilders in urban design terms.
The whole house can be constructed on site using a steel-framed panelised system with a single span of 6.3m. It has a large amount of flexible space which can be adapted to meet the needs of the residents throughout their lifetime. It has been designed to reflect the following key principles:
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good urban design;
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use of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC);
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EcoHomes "Excellent" standard;
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Secured by Design;
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flexibility and adaptability;
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Lifetime Homes;
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increased environmental amenity; and
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innovative use of volume and space.
In addition, the Summit House offers good acoustic and environmental insulation, facilities for recycling and the ability to make use of alternative energy sources. As the illustration above shows, the twostorey sunspace acts as an environmental buffer, reducing heat loss in the winter and heat gain in the summer. It provides a real example of how good environmental design can add value to a home. Other benefits the townhouse provides are:
- 50 per cent reduction in embodied energy used in construction;
- 20 per cent reduction in energy consumption;
- 20 per cent reduction in water consumption;
- 50 per cent reduction in domestic waste;
- 50 per cent reduction in construction waste;
- 70 per cent reduction in defects;
- 10 per cent increase in daylight provision;
- 10 per cent increase in noise proofing;
- 10 per cent energy from renewable sources; and
- IT data cabling.
Our partners
The house was designed for English Partnerships by architects PRP and has been constructed using a steel-framed panel and modular system devised by Fusion Building Systems.
Summit House: the future
After being exhibited at Delivering the Sustainable Communities Summit and OFFSITE 2005, the house has been incorporated into a development of around 20 homes at the Allerton Bywater Millennium Community, near Leeds.