Pre-Conference Workshop

Registration

Introduction to sustainable refurbishment of housing

• Overview of the research being carried out by the BRE into the upgrade of housing in a sustainable way
• Understanding the common challenges architects, engineers and contractors often face when designing and delivering a ‘green’ retrofit in residential buildings
• What simple, cost-effective solutions are most appropriate for different housing types? E.g. terraces, high rise, detached properties, affordable housing
• Getting to what really works: proven technologies and the benefits they can bring homeowners
  

Exploring the practical studies in action at the BRE Innovation Park

• The theory behind the Victorian Terrace project
• What were the reasons for refurbishing the terrace?
• Which products were used for the upgrade, and why were they selected?
• Learning from experience: lessons from the refurbishment
• Planned refurbishment schemes at the Park – what are they looking to achieve?
• Applying our knowledge from Zero Carbon Homes to housing retrofits
• Technologies which meet Zero Carbon guidelines which are appropriate for existing housing projects
• Clarifying which approaches to sustainability are most effective
  

Tour of the BRE Innovation Park

The tour will take in all the housing on the site, and will include considerable time spent on the following housing projects:

• The Victorian Terrace – a disused Victorian Stable Block has been upgraded into three energy efficient terrace homes
• Barratt Green House – this achieves Level 6 of the Code for Sustainable Homes
• Renewable House – the house illustrates how renewable building materials, provide excellent options for constructing low carbon housing
• Stewart Milne Sigma Home – this has been test run by a family to gain their perspective on living in a sustainably constructed house
  

Discussion, feedback and questions about learning points from the tour

Delegates will have the opportunity to share their thoughts on what they have learned, ask further questions about the technologies they have seen working in practice in the Victorian Terrace and consider how to apply the latest research to current projects

Close of workshop and tour