Exeter Passivhaus housing complex turning heads

Published: 25 April 2019

An environmentally friendly housing complex is turning heads in the design world after being shortlisted for a number of awards.

Exeter City Council’s Chester Long Court – 26 high-quality affordable homes in Whipton, Exeter – has been shortlisted in the South West Built Environment Awards, Project of the Year category. 

The complex in Vaughan Road, has also been shortlisted for Residential Property of the Year in the Michelmores Property Awards and two Royal Institute for Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Awards – Design Through Innovation category and Residential category.

Chester Long Court first opened its doors to tenants on the City Council’s waiting list earlier this year.

Designed by Exeter based Gale and Snowden, built by CG Fry and project managed by Randall Simmonds, the complex pushes the number of Passivhaus homes developed by the City Council to over 100.

Passivhaus is a rigorous voluntary standard for energy efficiency in a building. Properties use little energy for heating, with triple-glazed windows and inpenetrable insulation, keeping energy bills down and reducing the ecological footprint.

Rose Mason, a Passivhaus tenant in Exeter, said she pays considerably less for her energy than others do for similar sized properties.

“It keeps me beautifully cosy in the winter and if it’s very hot and you walk in in the summer, it’s lovely and cool,” she said.