I've heard of Bedford vans, and I've heard of Bedlington dogs; but I had never heard of Bedzed.
Bedzed, stands for Beddington Zero Energy Development; a decidedly catchy monica.
Not only had I not heard of Bedzed, I hadn't heard of the London Borough of Beddington either.
But back to Bedzed. There was I, thumbing through an old Marie Claire Maison magazine (above) when I came across this picture of a large, 100 home, Eco building development. On reading the article I discovered that it was to be found in my own native county of Surrey (part of which is now Greater London). I could hardly believe that such an interesting development had previously escaped my attention.
Eco homes are becoming increasingly popular; no doubt one day they'll be obligatory. The idea of living with no heating bills, and an almost pollution-free foot-print, is flavour of the year; and should be encouraged. But I would find life very uncomfortable inside a modern box-shaped triple-glazed glasshouse; such as Bedzed.
If there were ways of improving the heat saving qualities of my own non-Eco cottage, I would do it; but such houses were not designed for insulated walls etc.
Bedzed looks an interesting project, and I love those chimney cowls, but I fear it's not for me! If you wish to discover more; details are (of course) to be found on Wiki.
Well done architect Bill Dunster. Nice job.
It is not what I imagined when I clicked on the photo. It is quite interesting and unlike many modern construction, it should age quite well and still look good in three decades time.
ReplyDeleteThe exterior is not the most attractive I've seen, but I believe it does its job very efficiently.
DeleteIt has had a lot of teething problems and the car sharing pool was only paid lip service to by the greenies, all preferring to quietly keep their own cars. I don't know how the heating is doing now but the green boiler had to be replaced with a gas one.
ReplyDeleteThe magazine I found the article in is dated April 2009, so no doubt a lot has happened since. These things never really work as planned, but you just have to hope that they iron out the problems as they appear.
DeleteBuilding Regulations have improved energy efficiency over the years, increasing insulation to all new houses.
ReplyDeleteBut a lot of the older properties just don't lend themselves to this technology.
Ours certainly doesn't. We could insulate the roof a bit more, but we're never really cold.
DeleteI'm not a fan of most super-insulated new builds. Bathrooms with no windows, kitchens which rely on (electric) extractor fans, condensation issues - give me the odd draught any day. Much healthier.
ReplyDeleteI like fresh air, so I have to compromise. Even in cooler weather we have the doors wide open. As you say; so much healthier.
DeleteI know about Bedraggled.
ReplyDeleteHa.... that's my middle name!
DeleteThe video looked interesting. I would have thought your thick walls would have helped keep the warmth in. I don't like the idea of these modern airtight homes.
ReplyDeleteSome are so airtight, they recommend you don't even burn a candle inside.
DeleteI am all for homes that use less energy, but I need fresh air flowing through. A friend of ours has solar panels and his electric bill is close to $0.00. I wish we had done that when we bought our home 18 years ago and had jobs and salaries to pay for it.
ReplyDeleteWe have solar panels on our barn roof, but in this house they would look totally wrong.
DeleteAn exciting development but it has had some teething problems I believe. I can understand the need for efficient insulation but I like to have a few drafts! Great looking wind cowls.
ReplyDeleteI'd rather like one of those cowls on our barn; along with the drafts.
DeleteIt looks nothing more than a glorified block of flats. No thanks, I'll keep my draughty house!
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DeleteWe live in an old stone cottage with thick walls but are doing what we can to be green with solar panels and an air-source heat pump for more economical water and house heating. I would hate to be without the pleasure of our woodburner stove, however. There are rumours that they might be banned.
ReplyDeletePeople have been warming themselves with wood since Adam and Eve. It wouldn't surprise me at all if someone at Westminster now decided it was bad for us. That's what they're paid handsomely for!
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