Developing eco self-build community housing as a sustainable and scalable housing solution in the UK

Abstract

The government has set out targets for the UK to be net-zero carbon by 2050 and supply 300,000 new homes per year, yet conventional new build housing is struggling to achieve these aims. To address these challenges, this thesis proposes eco self-build community (ESBC) housing as an alternative solution and investigates the key factors in enabling it to become a sustainable and scalable housing solution in the UK. It uses Water Lilies, a 33-home scheme in Bristol, as the case study. The thesis comprises three main research areas. First, it investigates potential consumer preferences for ESBC housing, who are found to prioritise the provision of eco-housing with a low environmental impact and a sense of community, which is distinct from consumers of conventional self-build and custom-build housing, who prioritise location and the need to tailor the house design to the owner’s unique aesthetic and lifestyle preferences. Second, it conducts a whole life cycle assessment of a typical ESBC housing shell and compares the impact of different insulation options and energy scenarios on embodied and operational carbon emissions. The results show that an ESBC building shell using hemp fibre insulation produces the least carbon emissions in both the operationally net-zero carbon Water Lilies Community Energy (WLCE) scenario and the best-case Future Energy Scenario (FES), Leading the Way, whereas the baseline polyisocyanurate insulation produces the least carbon emissions in the worst-case FES, Steady Progression. Furthermore, across all design options, the WLCE scenario demonstrates up to 68% carbon reductions compared to Steady Progression. Third, it provides a comprehensive evaluation of neighbourhood sustainability assessment tools (NSATs) and selects the Value Toolkit to evaluate Water Lilies. For this tool, it establishes a framework that provides unique sustainability indicators and benchmarks to drive future improvements in the design and delivery of future ESBC housing schemes.

Date of Award	3 Oct 2023
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Bristol
Supervisor	Paul W Harper (Supervisor) & Alex D Marsh (Supervisor)