RSHP

RSAW Award shortlist for Crofts Street

01 March 2023

Today, as we celebrate the National Day of Wales, St David’s Day/Dydd Gwyl Dewi, we also celebrate some project news; our latest modular housing project in Wales, Crofts Street, is one of four projects on the shortlist for a 2023 RSAW Welsh Architecture Award. 

All shortlisted projects will soon be assessed by a regional jury, and the winning projects will be announced in Spring.  If Croft Street is declared a Regional Award winner, it will also be considered for a highly coveted RIBA National Award in recognition of architectural excellence.

Watch the modules being delivered and craned into position on-site

 “I'm very proud of our Crofts Street project in Cardiff making the 2023 RSAW Welsh Architecture Awards shortlist. It's been a great opportunity to deliver these much-needed family homes, designed to be carbon positive in operation. Using a quick and cost-effective volumetric technology, we hope to change the way we think about house building in the future.”   Ivan Harbour, senior partner, RSHP

Crofts Street, Cardiff, is a carbon positive modular housing project comprising nine two-bedroom townhouses, designed to be carbon positive in operation, and built on brownfield land for council rent. It is the city’s first modular scheme and was awarded Welsh Government Innovative Housing Funding.

The INNO design, led by RSHP and AECOM and delivered by @HOME, uses a ‘fabric first’ approach to optimise the performance of each unit against weather conditions, fire and acoustics. This system reduces operational energy consumption, which can lead to major cost savings on utility bills for residents.

The townhouses prioritise the use of sustainable materials, which means that they have less embodied energy than other buildings. With these considerations, the scheme is expected to surpass the current (Part L1A 2013) Building Regulations standards by 142% for regulated carbon emissions and 42% in fabric energy efficiency.