Passivhaus Design Solutions Ltd was founded in 2009 by directors: Roland Matzig (partner of r-m-p); Andrew Goodwin, an entrepreneur with German business interests and involvement with UK green energy companies along with Peter Goodwin and Terry Haigh, partners of CGP.
Providing a specialist consultancy trained in Passivhaus principles, Passivhaus Design Solutions Ltd aspires to make that construction standard the mainstream method of progressing towards the zero carbon target in UK construction by 2016, particularly in the social housing sector.
CGP and r-m-p provide professional and technical input to PDS.
“We at PDS are uniquely placed to offer a huge depth of experience from German practice together with expert knowledge of the requirements of the UK social housing sector to deliver the new solutions that will meet the lower energy dwellings needed now and beyond 2016,” says Terry Haigh.
In 1998 the first Passivhaus was planned by r-m-p and since 2003 all projects have been developed following Passivhaus principles and achieving the Passivhaus standard. The r-m-p practice has completed more certified Passivhaus than any other consultancy in the world.
CGP provides architectural, town planning, project management services and sustainability advice principally in social housing, student housing, key worker housing, schools and community projects, and mostly for public sector clients.
Six years ago they completed a new church hall in West London with a PV array on its roof part funded by Government grant. This near ‘zero carbon’ building was a prime example of good practice for its time. Many of its lessons have been used in their subsequent design but it was only in early 2009 that they fully embraced Passivhaus and launched PDS in collaboration with r-m-p.
According to the Passivhaus Institute, a passive house is, “a building in which a comfortable interior climate can be maintained without active heating and cooling systems (Adamson 1987 and Feist 1988). The house heats and cools itself, hence ‘passive’.”
A recent project was a private dwelling in Ireland. PDS was approached by the client to provide advice on how to achieve a Passivhaus within the constraints of a design which already had planning permission. Assisting the client with the specification PDS has worked with key suppliers and subcontractors to deliver the envelope and framework to complete a house that will meet Passivhaus requirements.
In July 2011 Architect Matthias Hartmann was appointed as a director to lead the vision of PDS into the future with Passivhaus.
For further information contact Matthias Hartmann @ PDS tel: 01923 712812 or visit their website: www.passivhaus-design-solutions.com.
