The House 4 Life project seeks to be an exemplar of family housing combining innovation and sustainability and one which responds to the anticipated lifestyle and health needs of a future community.

MCAU’s approach was to consider the capability of accommodating the changing needs of what a home needs to achieve over a lifetime. The wider proposals are one that integrates health, green space, and a sustainable energy management strategy, designed in a way that promotes to the customer a modern approach to living, and one which will help articulate to the customers that they are investing in their own quality of life.

These proposals are for the redevelopment of a brownfield site in Salford owned by the City Council. 184 homes are proposed which are based on enhanced space standards with an emphasis on liveability and flexibility. It is critical that families can grow up in these homes and not outgrow them to then firmly establish family roots.

The residential is of mixed tenure including build to rent, shared ownership, affordable housing, that provide a range of 2 to 5 bedroom houses, apartments, and extra care elderly living apartments. Flexibility is built into the dwellings so that they can be simply adapted and extended to respond to changing lifetime needs.

Improved energy standards focused on achieving Passivhaus standards are the aspiration to achieve low carbon homes with low running costs. It is for the demographic on which these houses are focused who will undoubtedly feel to a greater degree the impact of rising energy prices and fuel poverty in the future.

There is a large focus in the plan on public amenity space which provides an idyllic space to keep active and to relax, these proposals throughout are taking and developing private health and wellness as a fully integrated part of the overall design solution and development strategy. In putting in such green space and enabling ‘living streets’ to happen, an identity and a sense of place can be delivered. The framework will then be in place to let the individuals take ownership, which can then build a fulfilling community which is happy and memorable, one in which families can grow up in. MCAU’s work in this development is therefore focused on ‘sowing the seeds’ for such a community to develop.

The proposals and the manner in which it is designed is an opportunity to articulate to the residents that we all need to act now in delivering a sustainable future and that by them becoming an integral part of this development and hopefully establishing a likeminded community we really can all play our part. We want the customers and families of these proposals to develop around this common awareness and goal at the same time as sharing in an improved quality of life.

The list below is just some of the key elements that inform the design and construction of these truly energy efficient, and intelligent family homes proposed.

– PASSIVHAUS DESIGN
– OFFSITE CONSTRUCTION and MMC (Modern Methods of Construction)
– AIR/GROUND SOURCE HEAT PUMP
– SUDS (Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems)
– RAINWATER HARVESTING
– SOLAR PV
– TRIPLE GLAZING
– GREEN ROOFS
– BATTERY ENERGY STORAGE
– SMART TECH