Contact Information
Forest of Dean District Council
Council Offices
High Street
Coleford
Glos
GL16 8HG
Tel: 01594 810000
council@fdean.gov.uk
An ultra-low energy and eco-friendly building which makes use of natural light and ventilation and is built with local materials has been chosen as the favoured concept design for Coleford’s Lawnstone House.
Release Date: Aug 01, 2012
An ultra-low energy and eco-friendly building which makes use of natural light and ventilation and is built with local materials has been chosen as the favoured concept design for Coleford’s Lawnstone House.
Following presentations given by the three shortlisted architects to a panel of representatives from the District Council, Coleford Town Council and the Coleford Area Partnership, Architype’s strong sustainable design was voted as the favourite.
Architype’s design provided a showcase for natural and local materials and aimed to create a focal point for tourism and business as well as enhancing the centre of Coleford.
Their concept for the site is designed to the rigorous Passivhaus energy standard, reducing energy requirements by approximately 80% when compared to typical buildings, built to standard UK Building Regulations. Achieving Passivhaus would give the development a distinctive edge as one of the first Passivhaus mixed use developments in the UK.
The winning designs show a range of possibilities for the site and will not necessarily represent the final solution. Both the Coleford Town Council and Coleford Area Partnership representatives thought that a new build solution was best for the site rather than retaining Lawnstone House.Cllr Brian Robinson, cabinet member for Efficient Council and Planning Policy, who chaired the panel, said: “I was very impressed with the quality of the designs submitted. Each of the three entries produced a significantly different approach that has highlighted how important good design is to getting the best outcome for Coleford. The winning design was particularly strong on low energy use offering benefits for the environment.”
Wendy Pandya, Business Development Manager at Architype said: “We are absolutely delighted to have won this. We wanted our design to respond to the Forest of Dean by using materials that celebrated the history, heritage and identity of the area.”
Next stage will be to report to Cabinet in September on lessons learned from the Design Competition to inform their decision on the future of the Lawnstone site. One option will be to engage the Architype team to take their design concept forward and to work with them and key stakeholders on a more detailed design brief.