UK-based Loyn & Co are building the first net-zero carbon neighbourhoods in Wales alongside developer Sero Homes for Parc Hadau.
The construction, to take place on scrubland, will house the 35-dwelling-eco-friendly neighbourhood in Pontardawe, which will embody a net-zero-carbon structure through passive design and renewable energy.
The construction is aimed to begin later in the year, with tenants moving in, in 2021 to a choice of 11 two-bedroom homes, 22 three-bedroom homes and two four-bedroom homes.
A communal garden, community building for locals and residents and homes that calculate real-time carbon emissions due to peak times of electricity from the National Grid and balances itself, are a few perks of this £8m development.
The scheme has been partly funded £2.4m by the Welsh government’s Innovative Housing Programme.
The homes themselves will have cross-laminated timber beams off-setting emissions from low carbon concrete used for the foundations and thermal mass.
The buildings will also have solar panels, ground source heat pumps, alongside thermal and electrical storage.
Externally, the homes will be clad in locally sourced and low-embodied-energy materials, made up of timber, local stone and recycled brick.
Tim Fry, architect at Loyn &Co, says zero carbon is the right thing to do, according to Dezeen.
“As the government shifts towards updating existing housing stock, these new homes will not require any improvements as they already meet the government’s 2050 zero-carbon commitment, whilst the same standard homes will require upgrades in the years to come.”
Image: Loyn & Co
