Camden to get UK's first Passive House

A wooden house so well insulated that it will have no need for a boiler is to be built in Camden following a decision last night by the Council's Planning Committee. The designers - bere:architects - are seeking to achieve PassivHaus standard which basically means the warmth of human bodies should be sufficient to heat the building. This is primarily achieved by using thick, super-insulated walls and triple-glazed windows. Thousands of homes in Germany and Scandinavia are built to PassivHaus standard but there are none in the UK so far.


This is really exciting. If this house (see design above) receives PassivHaus certification and becomes the first home in the UK to do so, then Camden will have created a milestone in British building history. Justin Bere, the Managing Director of Bere Architects, told Planning Committee members that he saw "no reason why all new buildings in Camden couldn't be PassivHaus certified."

I want to see the PassivHaus principle enshrined in Camden's next set of planning rules - the Local Development Framework. If we can prove it's possible, then we should aspire to it. Virtually no energy is used in buildings like this. That means virtually no carbon emissions. The new school in Swiss Cottage should definitely be built to PassivHaus standard if Camden Council is really aspiring to put sustainability at the heart of everything it does.