Zero Carbon House, Birmingham UK

Winner of a RIBA award for architectural excellence in 2010

A unique zero carbon house has been built in inner city Birmingham, to meet the stringent requirements of Level 6 of the UK Code for Sustainable Homes. It’s an eco-house that will produce at least as much energy as it consumes, and it’s been built around an existing house!

Designed by John Christophers of Associated Architects as a family home, the ground-breaking carbon-neutral building is now being lived in. It’s an extension of a redbrick Victorian house, converting a 2-bedroom semi-detached into a 4-bedroom dwelling with a studio loft. It extends upwards and outwards: upwards to catch the sun otherwise obscured by a taller neighbouring house, sideways for more space. The original 1840 brick house is preserved, as are the mature ash trees in the garden. Integration with the surroundings is important, and the design takes account of the neighbouring architecture.

There’s a short video tour from Midlands Today on youtube.

The house is part of the Old Home Super Home network.

“I have seen the future – and it’s in Birmingham.” – Ruth Bloomfield’s cover story in The Times property section, Friday 11 June.

Green Building magazine summer 2010 edition cover story & 8-page feature.

High angle May sunshine floods into the double-height living room

The design conforms to Level 6 (the highest level) of the new Code for Sustainable Homes. It’s not the first Level 6 house under the sun, but as far as we know it’s the first in the UK to incorporate an existing building, and may be the first to be lived in. (For similar projects, or to record yours, see other Level 6 and zero-carbon houses). Architectural flair, user-friendliness, and a pleasing living space are as much a part of the design as the demands of the Code.

This is another milestone in the history of eco-homes and energy-efficient buildings in the UK – seven years ahead of the government target, which decrees that all new homes should be carbon-neutral by 2016. We see it as a contribution to the groundswell towards green lifestyles and the enjoyment of a sustainable way of life, in the shadow of global warming caused by human emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. It’s designed to protect the environment and enable its occupants to enjoy the environment.

Contractors: SpellerMetcalfe

Environmental design consultant: Matthew Hill at Leeds Environmental Design Associates
Structural engineers: Richard Hartshorne at Shire Consulting