Dovehouse Court Almshouses is a newly built Passivhaus certified development for Girton Town Charity, in the village of Girton on the outskirts of Cambridge. Girton Town Charity was established 1521 and now offers Almshouses expressly for those with a close connection to Girton, offering affordable housing to residents at different stages of their lives, either families, to help them to save money enabling them to move into their own house, or for active retirees. This is slightly different to the historical role of Almshouses.
This flagship project started way back in 2006 when the trustees stated their wish to provide residents with more up-to-date and efficient houses than the existing older bungalows. The completion of Dovehouse Court is a major milestone, seeing plans to future-proof housing in Girton come to fruition. This special project, building to Passivhaus standards to deliver energy efficient Almshouses that will be cost-effective to run and comfortable for residents, ensuring it is cosy in winter, cool in summer and has good air quality all year round. This helps reduce energy bills for residents, as well as providing a sustainable and environmentally responsible development for the future.
“Girton Town Charity’s vision was ambitious, and the result is a credit to its trustees’ perseverance. The homes feel safe and are welcoming, lightfilled and warm with direct access to communal gardens. Building on our experience designing Marmalade Lane co-housing in Cambridge, we minimised personal private amenity space to create a generous shared courtyard. Each front door faces on to the courtyard, with a small terrace forming a threshold. This strategy follows HAPPI principles – gently encouraging people to be outdoors, be visible and come into contact with one another. To minimise residents’ heating bills, the homes are designed using passive solar principles, good orientation, limited openings to the north, and deep overhangs to provide solar shading. The homes have achieved Passivhaus certification despite planning constraints and the site’s challenges. Benches are positioned on low walls, dotted around the gardens so residents can observe comings and goings, promoting a feeling of safety through passive surveillance, and creating a sense of community. The recent Almshouse Longevity Study, published by Bayes Business School, found that living in an almshouse can boost a resident’s lifespan by as much as two and a half years. Strategies to bring people together and eradicate loneliness make a significant contribution to this. Boldly coloured front doors add joy and fun but also have a practical function enabling residents to describe their house by the colour of the front door” Ian Bramwell, director, Mole Architects
Architect’s view Girton Town Charity’s vision was ambitious and the result is a credit to its trustees’ perseverance. The homes feel safe and are welcoming, lightfilled and warm with direct access to communal gardens. Building on our experience designing Marmalade Lane co-housing in Cambridge, we minimised personal private amenity space to create a generous shared courtyard. Each front door faces on to the courtyard, with a small terrace forming a threshold. This strategy follows HAPPI principles – gently encouraging people to be outdoors, be visible and come into contact with one another. To minimise residents’ heating bills, the homes are designed using passive solar principles, good orientation, limited openings to the north, and deep overhangs to provide solar shading. The homes have achieved Passivhaus certification despite planning constraints and the site’s challenges. Benches are positioned on low walls, dotted around the gardens so residents can observe comings and goings, promoting a feeling of safety through passive surveillance, and creating a sense of community. The recent Almshouse Longevity Study, published by Bayes Business School, found that living in an almshouse can boost a resident’s lifespan by as much as two and a half years. Strategies to bring people together and eradicate loneliness make a significant contribution to this. Boldly coloured front doors add joy and fun but also have a practical function enabling residents to describe their house by the colour of the front door. Ian Bramwell, director, Mole Architects
Mole architects
Clarke eco wall ltd
Girton town charity
2023
Cambridge
Historical Renovation
Life challenge 2024
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