A pioneering low-energy retrofit of a derelict farm building at Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s Stirley Community Farm in Huddersfield has just commenced work on site. The design & build project, led by Passivhaus firm Green Building Store, will transform the barn into an all-purpose, flexible educational centre and space.
A super-insulated timber-frame structure will be built into the existing stone building, preserving the outward appearance of the barn, whilst offering EnerPHit (a variation of the Passivhaus standard, specifically designed for retrofits) levels of performance. As well as working to high insulation and airtightness requirements, the project is developing some innovative solutions to supporting and working with the original stone barn structure, offering lessons for similar low-energy retrofits in the UK.
Yorkshire Wildlife Trust has embraced the Passivhaus ‘fabric first’ approach of maximising the energy efficiency of the building fabric to reduce energy use to an absolute minimum. The EnerPHit ‘Cre8 barn’ will complement well what the Trust is trying to achieve at the Community Farm. Rob Stoneman, Chief Executive at Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, said: “The design of the EnerPHit Cre8 barn, will ensure that its heating requirements are tiny – a public example to show how good design can be used to retrofit low-carbon living into old buildings; breathing new life into derelict buildings in more ways than one.”
The Cre8 barn is being built using funding from Veolia Environmental Trust and will be an education centre for the many volunteers and visitors to the farm.
