Sheep’s wool, native timber & Humber clay: The sustainable social housing built by Hull charity Giroscope
SUSTAINABLE AND AFFORDABLE: The new homes built by Giroscope, which are raised above the ground to protect them from flooding
By Simon Bristow
Award-winning Hull housing charity Giroscope has just completed its first new-build project, with three new houses next to its offices in Coltman Street.
Building on its 35-year track record of delivering high-quality refurbished rented properties to meet a progressive social agenda, Giroscope has just completed a terrace comprising a single three-bedroom house and two with two bedrooms.
The properties, which are now occupied, were constructed by the Giroscope team of staff, volunteers and sub-contractors and will be let as social housing in perpetuity.
To celebrate the Grand Opening on Friday, April 28, the public are invited to visit the site from 1pm to meet the Giroscope team and architect Duncan Roberts. There will also be guests from Hull City Council and other housing organisations across the country.
GOING UP: Frames being raised at the site in Coltman Street
The project, which was conceived in 2016 and completed last summer, was funded by Giroscope with assistance from social investors Social & Sustainable Capital; Power to Change, The Sir James Reckitt Charity; and Hull City Council through the Right to Buy Replacement Grant Fund.
The new houses have been designed to a high environmental standard and are based on the timber-framed method of construction developed by the self-build pioneer Walter Segal.
The structural timber and much of the external decking and cladding was supplied by sawmills using UK-grown trees.
The framed construction raises the houses above ground level to allow flood water to pass safely beneath. The lower floors are insulated with sheep’s wool to be resilient to flooding. Access to the houses is via ramps suitable for use by wheelchairs and baby-buggies.
The walls and roofs are well-insulated with recycled newspaper, while the doors and windows are triple-glazed using products supplied by the Halifax-based Green Building Store.
The roofs, which incorporate both solar-electric and solar-thermal panels, are covered by roof tiles made in Hull from Humber clay. The solar-generated electricity is used by the offices next door, with the hot water produced is used by the individual houses.
The houses are all-electric to avoid the use of gas-boilers, and energy consumption is being monitored to see how they perform in comparison to the 100-plus houses Giroscope also own.
The properties are orientated to maximise solar gain to the main living spaces, with entrance porches to the north sides. Each house has a south-facing deck accessed directly from the living rooms – which forms part of the small south-facing private gardens.
DETAIL: Staff and volunteers from Giroscope working at the site. Picture by Mark Harvey
These also have access to a larger shared garden now planted with fruit trees. The shared garden also incorporates a rain-water catchment swale with a complementary catchment pond to the north side of the development.
Giroscope volunteers were involved in the construction of self-build houses. Many of them came to the charity with single or multiple barriers to employment such as learning difficulties, an offending history, long-term unemployment, mental health problems, or were recovering from alcohol and substance addiction.
Other people, including students, took the opportunity to get involved in the self-build project as valuable work experience. Visitors to the project have come from near and far, including Hull College and mid-Wales – with students from the Centre for Alternative Technology joining in with the build.
Architect Duncan Roberts said: “This project has been an opportunity to return to Hull after a lengthy absence and also an opportunity to put fully into practice the architectural ideas that I first encountered as a student here in the 1980s. Giroscope has been an inspiration to work with and being part of the means by which they can deliver their aims and objectives has been a considerable honour.”
TAKING SHAPE: Studwork on the community self-build. Picture by Mark Harvey
Project manager Caroline Gore-Booth said: “This project is the next step in Giroscope's work, building our first houses from scratch and creating sustainable, truly affordable homes. The process has been hard work, but deeply rewarding. I believe it has helped the people involved in the build grow and develop in ways they might not have thought possible, pushed Giroscope’s ambition as well as helping to regenerate the neighbourhood where we work.”
Giroscope coordinator Martin Newman added: “This has been a great opportunity for Giroscope to learn the skill of building houses from scratch. It is in keeping with our ethos and philosophy that these houses are very sustainable and super energy efficient. We look forward to identifying other small sites to embark on another development in the near future.”
This development is part of Giroscope’s commitment to delivering high quality, affordable, social housing available to all in its community. It mostly achieves this by buying and renovating empty properties in its neighbourhood.
With these new properties, Giroscope now has 138 residential units, mostly two and three-bedroom houses and one and two-bedroom flats. Most are situated in the Hessle Road and Anlaby Road areas of west Hull, with several also in Gipsyville and Spring Bank.
With the current UK housing crisis, and shortage of quality, affordable housing in Hull, Giroscope will endeavour to continue its work delivering new homes, either as refurb or new-build.