A leading Belfast architects’ practice has notched up another accolade – this time by winning a top award at this year’s RTPI (Royal Town Planning Institute) / RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) NI Sustainable Planning Awards.
The planning consultancy wing of TODD Architects submitted two schemes to this year’s competition and was amply rewarded when both projects were shortlisted in the Urban Development and the Built Environment section, with TODD Architects winning the category outright for the design of Woodbrook, Brokerstown Village in Lisburn.
Developed by the Carvill Group, Brokerstown has recently been hailed as Northern Ireland’s first Eco Village. The central biomass boiler plant providing heating and hot water to all the units is leading the way in housing design both in Ireland and the UK, and the CO² produced by the highly efficient boiler is offset by the CO² taken in by locally grown willow. The houses and apartments have 40 per cent thicker insulation, air tightness is improved and windows are fitted with high performance argon gas. Homes are also designed to conserve water, while water retention measures and permeable hard surfaces are provided to prevent surges of water during flash storms, as experienced recently during the flooding of the Westlink in Belfast.
“Woodbrook Brokerstown Village is leading the way on sustainable forms of living,” said Una Somerville, Head of Planning at TODD Architects . “It is the premier example of low carbon dioxide impact of any large scale housing scheme in Northern Ireland and its innovative approach was highly praised by the judges.”
TODD Architects were also shortlisted for another project in the Urban Development and the Built Environment section – the University of Ulster’s Belfast Campus .
“The Campus generates nearly all its electricity on site and harvests enough rainwater for all the building’s toilets,” said TODD’s project architect Angus Waddington. “The building’s management system continually monitors CO2 and temperature in all the studios and teaching spaces and uses natural ventilation to provide a comfortable, energy efficient environment.”
Now in their second year, the RTPI / RSPB NI Awards are aimed at promoting sustainable planning in Northern Ireland.
“It is important for TODD Architects to have contributed to this competition,”
