Building for Life

Award Winning Development for Metroplitan Housing Trust and Anne Thorne Architects An innovative housing development by Metropolitan Housing Trust, built on the site of a disused car park in Lambeth, has been awarded a Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) Building for Life ‘Silver Standard’ and Ecohomes ‘Excellent’ status. Designed by Anne Thorne Architects, the houses, which sit amongst mature trees, are ingeniously designed to take advantage of the wooded environment and fit into a challenging and overlooked site in inner London. The green credentials of the houses, which focused on high levels of insulation to the building fabric to dramatically reduce heat loss and heating demand, were enhanced by the addition of a Bauder sedum roof. Bauder, one of the roofing industry’s largest and most respected companies, designed the green roof to complement the red cedar shingles which clad the outside of the buildings. Mike Jones, architectural specification manager from Bauder said, “From the outset, the Metropolitan Housing Trust was committed to building excellent eco-homes with lightweight construction methods. Our award-winning green roof system obviously fitted in perfectly with this green ethos. For this development to go on to win such accolades is obviously a tremendous bonus for everyone involved in the project.