Decarbonising the Past

This Insight Focus, prepared with Pollard Thomas Edwards Architects (PTE) and Martin Arnold, showcases a pioneering retrofit concept for decarbonising the Old Barnsbury Estate in Islington based on our work for Newlon Housing Trust (Newlon). With 34% of the UK’s housing stock built before 1964, and 80% of today’s buildings estimated to still be in use by 2050, reducing emissions from existing homes will prove crucial in meeting the Government’s target of achieving Net Zero by 2050. By replicating the concept developed at the Old Barnsbury Estate, this could assist other Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) to cut their resident’s energy costs, accelerate a reduction in carbon emissions and help to create living environments suited to a changing climate across the UK’s pre-war social housing estates.

 

Newlon manages 8,450 homes and asked the design team to explore ways which would assist to decarbonise this historical housing. Old Barnsbury is a 1930’s residential estate of 275 homes of an historical architectural nature typical of the pre-war period. Similar to other estates of this time, housing units are notable for small rooms and narrow corridors with low ceilings, and noisy and cold living environments because of inadequate insulation. Poorly planned improvements have often made matters worse with damp, mould, and condensation problems commonplace.

 

The need for residents to remain living in properties whilst any improvements are brought forward, and the challenges around limited internal space, often means that traditional energy efficiency measures which can be incorporated into a newbuild scheme are not suitable. Much of the focus of the concept has therefore been on the external elevations, with measures designed carefully to significantly improve the performance of the buildings whilst being sympathetic to the historic character of the estate.   

Insight authors