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First SmartLIFE house is occupied

Posted: 06/07/2007

A young woman and her 14 month old son have become the first residents of an innovative eco friendly housing estate in March, Cambridgeshire. The pilot project of 56 homes will monitored by BRE to see how they perform on terms of reducing carbon emissions and energy useage.

Eventually 106 new homes in the Cambridgeshire towns of March and Chatteris will become home to both private buyers and housing association tenants when they are completed in October 2007. The process of constructing them will be a demonstration and training scheme involving some of the lead players in shaping affordable housing policy and creating sustainable communities.

The project has been developed by the SmartLIFE organisation to demonstrate how modern methods of construction can be used to alleviate housing shortages in growth areas. Its unique aspect is the extent to which every step of the construction process will go under the microscope to assess issues such as build speed, build quality, the sustainability of the construction process and the post-occupancy performance of the resulting houses, including energy efficiency.

English Partnerships, the Housing Corporation, Fenland District Council and the Department of Communities and Local Government are funding the project. SmartLIFE is a joint venture between Cambridgeshire County Council and BRE. Fenland District Council and Home Group, one of the largest housing providers in the UK, are key partners in driving forward the development.

The new estate, like the other two developments planned, will use 'Modern Methods of Construction' where the walls are constructed off site, and features a Fusion StIF system in which the frames are made of steel panels and the properties use up to 50 per cent less energy than conventional homes.

Altogether three innovative construction systems are being used for the SmartLIFE housing:

The Fusion StIF(tm) panelised steel frame; the Pinewood Structures panelised timber frame; and the Polarwall Insulating Concrete Formwork (ICF)

The systems will be used to build approximately 60% of the homes, which will be a mix of terraced, detached and semi-detached properties with two, three and four bedrooms. The other 40% will be built using traditional 'brick and block' methods, and their respective performance will be compared.

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