Case study 1: Anderston Regeneration

The Anderston Regeneration is a project to revitalise a busy area of Glasgow by building 540 new affordable homes. Designed by Collective Architecture for Sanctuary Scotland Housing Association, these new homes will be a modern take on the traditional tenement style to replace the 1960s concrete low-rise blocks that used to be there.

The use of CCG OSM’s enhanced closed panel timber systems allowed the homes to be constructed faster and to reach environmental standards above and beyond the building regulations. Thanks to a Fabric First Approach, the new buildings complied with the Scottish Silver Standard of Accreditation.

Whole house ventilation and solar gain, have contributed towards energy savings for the residents, with predicted annual fuel bills starting from £287 (EPC ratings from phase 4&5). In addition, the large number of timber products embedded in the structure would contribute to carbon sequestration, although specific environmental impact calculations were not carried out.

Case Study 2: LILAC - Low Impact Living Affordable Community

LILAC is a groundbreaking project in West Leeds that has been developed with the goal of reducing environmental impact, increasing affordability and fostering community. The project, unveiled in March 2013, consists of five housing buildings and a communal house, all constructed with a prefabricated straw bale and timber system called ModCell. The name LILAC stands for Low Impact Living Affordable Community, encapsulating the goals of the project.

The LILAC development is built using ModCell, a storey-high, load-bearing panel made with local materials and put together in a temporary factory near the site. Not only does this method help out the local economy, it also saves time and money while minimizing transport-related waste and carbon emissions. Each panel (3m x 3.2m) locks up 1400 kg of CO2 and has a U-value of 0.19 W/m2K – three times better than the UK Building Regulations require.

Case Study 3: 26 Bath Street

26 Bath Street is a residential project in Portobello, Edinburgh that was completed in 2017. The owners of the project were able to design and build their own home, without involving a developer, which was estimated to save them 20% on the market price. The building is a contemporary take on a tenement and consists of four flats across four floors, with a central staircase. The aim was to make the environment energy efficient and comfortable, and to suit the owners’ needs.

This project used Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) as its offsite system, which was visible in the apartments' interiors. The choice of CLT as main construction material reduced the number of materials onsite due to the precision of the pre-fabricated panels and the integrated windows, doors and services openings. The construction programme followed a passive fabric-first approach, providing great energy-efficiency with high airtightness and insulation to help keep the heat in.

Case study 4: Small Scale Off-grid Woodland Hutting at Cash Strip Wood

This project proposes to build 15 huts at Cash Strip Wood and make it into an inviting, well-designed, and accessible development. It's part of the 'Thousand Huts Campaign' to bring back the hutting culture in Scotland - something the Scottish Government is very supportive of - due to the increasing demand.

A closed panel system was used to construct the Pilot Hut. Instead of building it in a factory, they assembled it on-site with the panels being assembled in a temporary workshop. The panels were made from larch, which was sourced from the Estate.