Exemplar Sustainable Building Awards: Small project finalist: Abhainn Passivhaus

Small project finalist in the 2025 Exemplar Sustainable Buildings Awards. Abhainn Passivhaus is a development of three detached dwellings that are not only certified to the Passivhaus Classic standard, but which also have low embodied carbon emissions meeting RIBA 2030 metrics. The homes comply with the exacting Gold higher level of sustainability in Section 7 of the Scottish Technical Standards.

Abhainn

The three 4-bedroom homes that make up the Abhainn development have been built on a brownfield site on the edge of Hamilton in Scotland. With Passivhaus certification a key goal, the homes were optimally oriented, and thermal bridges modelled and designed out. To achieve 'Gold standard' in Scottish Technical Standards, the project also had to address 8 aspects of wider sustainability issues. Consistent construction detailing between properties ensures replicability at scale. The development's aims for cost-effective construction was achieved, with the homes delivered for a below market average cost.

Strong efforts were made to reduce embodied carbon of building materials on the development: steel was reduced to an absolute minimum by utilising internal partitions as load bearing elements; insulated raft foundations and an additional strip foundation were chosen to minimise concrete use. Building with SIPS timber frame was a client decision made before the architects came on board. The insulation within the SIPS panels was subsequently upgraded from the standard specification for better performance and recyclability.