Autumn '21

PROJECT FOCUS
>>> Continued from page 36
to make you sit up and take notice. No
compromises were made by technical
consultant Dr Harrall, who, keen to
achieve outstanding SAP ratings, chose
to use Ravago’s higher performing
ULTRA insulation as well as install a
thicker than required board. The board
is available in a range of thicknesses
from 80 to 205mm, has high
compressive strength and high loadbearing
capacity.
In this case, boards were double layered
to a width of 335mm in the floors and
roof and a single layer of 205mm was
used in the walls. This project has cut
no corners to create extremely highperformance
low carbon housing.
Another unique element of the project
is the greenfield site location. Getting
permission to build on a greenfield site
is rightfully challenging, and initially
proposals put forward by landowner
Dr Christopher Parsons were rejected.
However, in 2018, permission was finally
granted on the basis that the homes
would contribute to the economic and
social fabric of the village, as well as the
biodiversity of the area.
But this development has undeniable
potential to contribute to not just
village life but wider society, presenting
a blueprint for future developments
built on greenfield sites elsewhere
across the country. And although these
21st century homes present a hopeful
vision for the years ahead, they are
also founded on the Vales’ decades
of tenacious research, progressive
thinking, and industrious pragmatism.
Ravago Building Solutions has a
similarly strong heritage; Ravatherm
XPS X products are made and
despatched from King’s Lynn in Norfolk,
where Ravago Building Solutions began
making the UK’s first-ever range of XPS
insulation products over 60 years ago.
Sustainable housing might not be
anything new, but Howgate Close is
a mark that housing developments
certainly don’t have to be the same as
they always have been.
“I think this could be the future of
sustainable rural architecture”, says Dr
Jerry Harrall, a leading fossil fuel-free
designer who consulted on the project’s
energy efficiency, detailing, monitoring
and ongoing research.
“Dr Parsons’ vision for Howgate Close
as a replicable model has the potential
to provide both rural housing and
wood pastures for every village in the
country.”
Contact Ravago
Building Solutions
www.ravagobuildingsolutions.com
Tweet: @RInsulationUK
Images: Ravatherm XPS X ULTRA 300 SL
insulation has been specified for Howgate
Close, making the earth-sheltered homes
viable over the long-term with its minimal
moisture uptake.