Architype

11^th October marked the inaugural Herefordshire ‘PedalHaus’, a tour-for-all by bike of precedent Herefordshire buildings!

The near 40 participants, (including an enthusiastic 5 year old) were not perturbed by the somewhat miserable weather forecast as they set out on their bikes from Hereford Cathedral.

First stop, just a few miles outside the city in Rotherwas, was Architype’s near-complete Archive and Record Centre. The UK’s first Passivhaus archive facility, this is also the first of its kind to be constructed to the new PD5454:2012 standard; Guidance for the storage and exhibition of archival materials. Particular highlights included the striking mass of cedar shingles, which cover the entire repository, as well as the light and open internal spaces, which made a real impression even on a dull day! It was great to hear Nick Grant and Alan Clarke explain the ‘minimal’ approach to services design.

Returning to Hereford, the next stop was an EnerPHit retrofit on Grove Cottage, belonging to Andy Simmonds. The cottage demonstrates what could be done to a typical older house to bring it to 21^st Century standards; focussing particularly on improvements to the external wall insulation, which simplifies the strategy for thermal improvement and moisture risk management.

Next stop was another Simmonds.Mills’ retrofit project nearby where internal wall insulation was used, as planning restrictions prevented any change of external appearance of the mid-terrace property. Andy explained how they took a holistic approach to retrofit measures and responded to particular requirements once the building had been stripped back to its original structure. Once completed, no doubt this will be a very comfortable house for their owners!

Having worked up an appetite, we lunched in St.James and discussed the morning’s impressions before setting off on the final leg to see Mike Whitfield’s timber frame Passivhaus House in Clehonger. Now rented by Architype’s Rob White, Rob was able to give some honest first-hand feedback on his experience of living in the property.

All in all, it was great turnout, and brilliant to meet so many like-minded people on this low-energy architecture-come-cycling day out! Looking forward to next years!