Goldsmith Street

Location: Norwich
Completion Status: Certified	Occupancy: Occupied
Architect: Mikhail Riches	Consultant: WARM
Contractor: RG Carter	Client: Norwich City Council
Certification: April 2019	Certifier: Etude
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WINNER: Large Projects category I 2025 Exemplar Sustainable Building Awards. Goldsmith Street in Norwich isn’t just an award-winning 100% social housing development, it’s a game-changer to prove that local authorities can deliver net zero-ready homes - beautifully, affordably, and at scale. Nestled in Norwich and commissioned by Norwich City Council, this 93-home Passivhaus project seamlessly blends stunning design with social purpose, creating light-filled, community-focused homes where annual energy bills can be as low as £150.

A recipient of the prestigious 2019 RIBA Stirling Prize, Goldsmith Street is redefining affordable housing with its human-scale terraces, sunny streets, and ultra-low energy use—all built to a tight budget without sacrificing quality. As Norwich’s first council housing scheme in a generation, it sets a bold precedent for delivering precision Passivhaus standards while fostering a strong sense of community.

This visionary project is a UK benchmark for sustainable housing, thanks to a forward-thinking public client, expert delivery team, and fabric-first, timber-based construction. Its hybrid MMC timber frame achieves top-tier performance without compromising on cost or design, minimizing embodied carbon while meeting rigorous airtightness and thermal efficiency goals.

The social housing development for Norwich City Council, comprises of 93 Passivhaus homes spread across 7 blocks aligned in 4 simple rows on a traditional street pattern. On completion in 2019 it took the title of the UK's largest Passivhaus certified residential scheme.

What do the residents think?

Four years after moving in, occupants at Goldsmith Street Passivhaus share a glimpse of how much better it would be if the UK’s homes were properly insulated & ventilated. Read more in the Guardian article ‘Life changing’: the social housing helping to cut heating bills in Norwich.

At a time of health fears for more than 3 million households struggling to pay for heating and while others are facing soaring energy bills, this part of the budget is capped by the design of the homes at Goldsmith Street. It is estimated average annual energy bills are capped at £2,500, while in a Passivhaus home, average annual bills are £947 – more than 62% cheaper.

The death of two-year-old Awaab Iskwak in a mouldy Rochdale flat has exposed the squalid state of much of England’s housing stock, with up to 450,000 homes hit with problems of condensation & mould. Although initially sceptical about the claim that design alone could help heat the homes in winter and cool them in summer, some residents are convinced that the warmth and ventilation of their Passivhaus homes have improved their health. Now they are keen to proselytise its benefits.

If you are looking for more evidence to bolster the business case for your Passivhaus developments read more in our Passivhaus cost benefits guides.

Goldsmith Street interactive 360 degree tour © www.rodedwards.com 2020

The terraced housing scheme began life as an RIBA competition (won by Mikhail Riches with Cathy Hawley) in 2008. The competition-winning Goldsmith Street design did not aim for Passivhaus standard at the outset. The council’s subsequent conversion was sparked by two local housing association projects in north Norfolk, and adopted a fabric first framework.

Passivhaus is a good way of building because it both helps with fuel poverty and is aligned with our climate change agenda through carbon emissions reduction.’

Andrew Turnbull, senior housing development officer, Norwich City Council

Goldsmith Street aerial view ©Mikhail Riches/John Fielding aerial photography

Goldsmith Street aerial view © Mikhail Riches/ John Fielding aerial photography

All the new council-owned energy-efficient homes, a mix of 2-4 bed houses and 1-3 bed flats, are let for social rent through Norwich Home Options.

Goldsmith Street, Street section

Narrow streets, carefully considered window placement, and cleverly sloped roofs maximise daylight into a dense development, that does not feel oppresive or unsafe. Parking has been pushed to the perimeter to help maintain openess.

Key Stats

Treated Floor Area (TFA): 3,337.7m²

Year of completion: 2019

Units: 93 certified Passivhaus homes

Construction: Hybrid timber frame with brick/tile cladding, Warmcel insulation.

Construction cost £14.7 million

Construction cost per m² £1,875 (excl. professional fees)

Annual running costs: £150 per unit/year (of which standing charge £90) Approx. £2/m²/yr

Embodied carbon: 311 kgCO₂e/m² (A1–A5)

Goldsmith Street Mikhail Riches/ Tim Crocker

"It has been fantastic to meet some of the residents and hear their stories, which have shown the real difference these new homes will make. This development demonstrates our commitment to providing high quality social housing and I’m especially proud of these properties’ eco-credentials which will benefit residents as well as the environment."

Cllr Gail Harris, Norwich City Council

Architect Mikhail Riches explains that cost savings were made early in the design process by making significant alterations to the brickwork, roof and foundation packages, which didn't affect energy performance. The savings made in other areas allowed the Passivhaus features to be safeguarded. That is not to say that this is a low spec development. Contemporary materials include black glazed pantiles traversing from roof to wall, contrasting light coloured brick, and perforated metal brise soleil.

Energy Performance

	Airtightness (≤0.6ACH@50pascals)	0.56
	Thermal Energy Demand (≤15kWh/m².yr)	12.3
	Thermal Energy Load (≤10W/m²)	10
	Primary Energy Demand (≤135kWh/m².yr)	109

This is Mikhail Riches's first Passivhaus project and they had high architectural expectations. The architects wanted the Passivhaus Standard to work to the design rather than the design being secondary to complying with the Passivhaus Standard.

I think that’s where a lot of Passivhaus schemes fail,” adds Turner. “The focus is often too much on making the project Passivhaus compliant and forgetting that there still needs to be good design. This is where we pushed the design hard to achieve both.

James Turner, Mikhail Riches

This has been reflected in the finished result with services concealed and elegantly integrated into the design. Gas meter cupboards are concealed, gas pipework is hidden within the cavity of the brickwork, MVHR intakes are intelligently controlled, and boiler flues are not visible from the street.

It had to be ensured that systems & services employed were accessible and maintainable by the Council so they could readily adopt the new buildings with little issue. Each dwelling has a range of providers’ services pre-wired, so that they can be connected on demand, mitigating the need for service providers to come in later and unintentionally damage or drill through vital airtightness layers.

Key lessons learned

1. Have an aspiration & commitment to achieve Passivhaus from the outset

2. Manage solar gains & overshadowing carefully

3. Early service co-ordination essential to integrate into design

4. Careful selection of construction method – to ensure repeatability

Key Team

Client: Norwich City Council

Architect: Mikhail Riches

Contractor: RG Carter

M&E engineer: Greengauge

Passivhaus consultants: WARM

Clerk of Works: Enhabit

Quantity Surveyor: Hamson Barron Smith

Structural Engineer: Rossi Long Consulting

Timber frame: Cygnum Timber Frame

MVHR supplier: Green Building Store

Certifier: Etude

Goldsmith Street Mikhail Riches/ Matthew Pattenden

Given that the upcoming Future Homes Standard is likely to increase regulations to the equivalent of Passivhaus certification within the next few years, good coordination and collaboration are key drivers of successful delivery. Goldsmith Street demonstrates all the positives that can be achieved when everyone involved pulls together in the same direction.