This all-electric, low carbon scheme is the fourth development that we have delivered in four years for Housing 21.
The Extra Care scheme, located on Brickell Way is Housing 21’s Extra Care scheme in Oxfordshire and provides one- and two-bedroom apartments for people over the age of 55, with the assurance of on-site care for residents if and when they need it.
Residents have the choice to rent or purchase their property through shared ownership.
Residents benefit from a wide range of communal facilities, including a communal lounge, assisted bathing suite and guest room.
There are additional facilities available for the wider local community to use, including a café/bistro and communal gardens.
The site of approximately 6,047 sq m is located within the wider Bloor Homes, Oriel Gardens housing development.
Due to the site being located in a residential area, close to a school, no deliveries were accepted around school times and the site team kept residents informed of works with community letter drops.
The apartments were made 4 sq m larger than the technical housing standards to enable more flexibility for residents who may require assistance or be dependant on walking aids, wheelchairs and hoists.
By utilising the expertise of our Design & Build team and energy consultants the building had a Whole Life Carbon Assessment produced to assist Housing 21 in reducing the carbon on future builds.
The work we undertook ties in with our Zero Carbon agenda and has assisted Housing 21 in developing and bringing this new low-carbon building to site.
A load bearing masonry structure was adopted for the new building with precast upper floors.
The site was on a slope, and therefore a step in ground floor level and a significant reinforced concrete retaining wall was required.
We used a Fabric First Solution which involved integrating energy efficiency into the fabric, enabling us to minimise the reliance on the occupant to control heating systems to achieve the desired energy performance of the building.
We undertook R&D of a ‘Passive Purple’ sealant paint to improve our air tightness but allow us to reduce our parging requirements, ultimately giving a value engineering saving.
Pupils at Elms Primary School, a short walk from site, had the opportunity to choose a name for the Extra Care development through Housing 21’s naming competition.
The pupils shortlisted were invited to visit the development site to see where the new scheme would be built, where Fern Meadows was revealed as the official name.
