Riverside Road developed by the council and designed by Bell Phillips Architects – has won the Richard Feilden Award category at the Housing Design Awards, for the best social housing scheme...
Riverside Road – the small development of 5 three-bedroom affordable family homes developed by Watford Borough Council and designed by Bell Phillips Architects – has won the Richard Feilden Award category at the Housing Design Awards, for the best social housing scheme in the UK.
The Housing Design Awards were launched in 1948 and is the only awards promoted by all 5 major professional institutions – RICS, RIBA, RTPI, Landscape Institute and Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologist. The Riverside Road project was one of 54 projects nationally to be nominated as finalists, and it was chosen for being highly energy efficient, green and built to an excellent standard.
In line with the council’s climate emergency commitments, the homes are designed to meet levels of BRE’s Home Quality Mark, which is an independently assessed certification scheme for new homes. It awards certificates with a simple star rating for the standard of a home’s design, construction and sustainability.
This has been achieved with high levels of insulation, PV panels on the roof which produce energy to power electrical appliances and an air source heat pump which ensures the homes are well heated and warm in the colder months. The new homes are also well connected to local schools, public transport and other key infrastructure, which encourages use of more sustainable modes of transport.
Elected Mayor of Watford, Peter Taylor, said: “I am really proud that this development has won this prestigious award and I want to pay tribute to all of those who worked on this project. The Riverside Road scheme is providing high quality, energy efficient homes for local families.
“Energy efficient homes have lower bills and are better for the environment. The rising costs of fuel and the climate emergency makes it more important than ever that the new homes we create are built to high environmental standards and I hope that we can continue to do this in the future.”
