Houzz Tour: Is This the U.K.’s Greenest Victorian House?
Think you can’t have a period home that’s warm, dry and energy-efficient? This English townhouse begs to differ
We often think of Victorian homes as being damp, drafty and not particularly environmentally friendly, but what if you could retrofit a period building to make it dry, warm, energy-efficient and good for your health? That’s exactly what the team at environmental consultancy firm Ecospheric did, turning a house in England into the first Victorian to pass the tough eco standards set by the Passive House Institute in Germany.
Before: The house had been modernized over the years, so the team wanted to reinstate the original features using both modern and traditional technologies.
The front door is designed in the Victorian style, with molded panels, but it has modern thermal features to keep the house thoroughly insulated.
Installing the mailbox in the low brick wall on the left avoided having a hole in the door that could have led to problems during Passive House pressure testing. Most mailboxes are also made of metal, which can cause problems with moisture. “An external solution bypasses all these issues,” says Ecospheric designer Kit Knowles, who spearheaded the project with his wife and business partner, Ellie.
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Installing the mailbox in the low brick wall on the left avoided having a hole in the door that could have led to problems during Passive House pressure testing. Most mailboxes are also made of metal, which can cause problems with moisture. “An external solution bypasses all these issues,” says Ecospheric designer Kit Knowles, who spearheaded the project with his wife and business partner, Ellie.
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Besides making the house environmentally friendly, the team wanted to restore the beautiful period elements of the original building.
The team laid unglazed Victorian mosaic tiles along the front path and in the hallway, and installed custom plaster cornicing, ceiling roses and moldings throughout the house.
Browse mosaic floor tile in the Houzz Shop
The team laid unglazed Victorian mosaic tiles along the front path and in the hallway, and installed custom plaster cornicing, ceiling roses and moldings throughout the house.
Browse mosaic floor tile in the Houzz Shop
Ecospheric specializes in making windows to Passive House standards. In this period townhouse, the team installed triple-paned stained glass.
Lime plaster on the walls regulates humidity and creates a healthy environment. Lime also gets environmental points for absorbing carbon dioxide when it dries.
Lime plaster on the walls regulates humidity and creates a healthy environment. Lime also gets environmental points for absorbing carbon dioxide when it dries.
The two adjoining houses were updated with matching layouts. This is the ground floor.
Local cabinetmaker John George made the kitchen cabinetry out of solid wood, which is durable enough to last for years. “We use English [woods] and often source them from a sustainable online hub called TreeStation,” he says.
Brass kitchen faucet: Olif
Brass kitchen faucet: Olif
The birch plywood doors on some of the cabinets are covered with a water-based, low-odor dark blue paint. The perimeter countertops are made from durable Welsh slate.
The space is outfitted with energy-efficient appliances. Brass on the backsplash and fixtures provides a luxurious feel.
The space is outfitted with energy-efficient appliances. Brass on the backsplash and fixtures provides a luxurious feel.
A small utility space is tucked into the corner of the kitchen. Besides laundry equipment, it contains ventilated drawers for storing vegetables.
Architect Chris Rodgers of Guy Taylor Associates explains the stepped layout at the back of the townhouse: “The original ground-floor level was elevated high above the garden, and the slippery steps were not ideal for family living. So, the internal ground level was dropped to line up with the garden.”
Instead of supporting the building with a steel joist, the team used wood, which takes less energy to manufacture, Kit says. The beams are positioned in an A and a V structure, for both practical and aesthetic reasons: The triangular design is extremely strong, and it looks architecturally stunning.
There’s no expensive central heating system; instead, the townhouse incorporates clever ventilation.
The mechanical ventilation with heat recovery system is essentially a series of ducts that flow through the house and extract stale air from humid rooms, such as the kitchen, utility room and bathroom, and replace it with fresh air from outside. A heat exchanger box uses the stale air to heat the fresh air, which is then distributed evenly around the house.
“We also included a [government]-approved wood-burning stove, but as a cozy feature rather than an essential heat source,” Ellie says. “It’s room-sealable, which means it uses air from outside the property rather than sucking warm air from inside.”
The mechanical ventilation with heat recovery system is essentially a series of ducts that flow through the house and extract stale air from humid rooms, such as the kitchen, utility room and bathroom, and replace it with fresh air from outside. A heat exchanger box uses the stale air to heat the fresh air, which is then distributed evenly around the house.
“We also included a [government]-approved wood-burning stove, but as a cozy feature rather than an essential heat source,” Ellie says. “It’s room-sealable, which means it uses air from outside the property rather than sucking warm air from inside.”
The rear of the townhouse is well-insulated like the side wall, but here it’s covered with a rot- and UV-resistant wood. “The [wood] is prematurely aged, which makes it maintenance-free and gives it this attractive pale color,” Ellie says.
The windows face south to maximize solar gain.
The path is laid with wood reclaimed from the home’s joists, and the garden wall is constructed from reclaimed bricks.
The windows face south to maximize solar gain.
The path is laid with wood reclaimed from the home’s joists, and the garden wall is constructed from reclaimed bricks.
The powder room has a sink on top of the toilet tank, which helps recycle water. When the toilet is flushed, fresh water comes through the faucet for washing hands and is then stored in the tank below to be used later for flushing.
Water throughout the home is heated by a water heater that heats only what’s needed. It uses technology that stratifies water in the tank from hot to cold and gradually heats water as it’s used, rather than heating the entire volume right away. The home’s energy is provided by photovoltaic panels on the roof and, as the house generates more power than it uses, the owners can sell electricity back to the national grid.
Water throughout the home is heated by a water heater that heats only what’s needed. It uses technology that stratifies water in the tank from hot to cold and gradually heats water as it’s used, rather than heating the entire volume right away. The home’s energy is provided by photovoltaic panels on the roof and, as the house generates more power than it uses, the owners can sell electricity back to the national grid.
Upstairs on the second floor are two bedrooms, a family bathroom and an en suite.
The bay windows in the living room and the master bedroom, pictured, threw up some challenges when the team wanted to insulate the interior wall.
“To overcome any moisture-related risks, we created a detached internal [wood] frame,” Kit says. But to make it all fit, they had to completely remove the interior brick layer and tie the outer layer to the wood frame for support.
“To overcome any moisture-related risks, we created a detached internal [wood] frame,” Kit says. But to make it all fit, they had to completely remove the interior brick layer and tie the outer layer to the wood frame for support.
The original floorboards, treated with a breathable varnish, are laid in a chevron pattern in numerous rooms throughout the house.
The chandeliers and pendants in all the rooms came from Agapanthus Interiors, a local company that restores and upcycles antique light fixtures.
Reclaimed-wood headboard: John George Fine Carpentry
The chandeliers and pendants in all the rooms came from Agapanthus Interiors, a local company that restores and upcycles antique light fixtures.
Reclaimed-wood headboard: John George Fine Carpentry
The en suite bathroom features a spacious shower lined with Tuscan marble tiles, which also cover the kitchen floor. “We wanted to show that an eco house could be stylish as well as practical,” Ellie says.
Shop for marble wall tile
Shop for marble wall tile
Light switches and outlets are made from unlacquered copper, which has natural antibacterial properties.
The walls in the nursery are painted with a product that’s a combination of lime and graphene (not to be confused with the graphite in your pencil), a new and extremely strong and durable material. It is also an efficient heat conductor, allowing it to thermally regulate the home.
A soaking tub is on many people’s wish lists, so the team had to weigh the pros and cons of installing one in the bathroom. “The key is to see them as a luxury and not something you use every day,” Kit says. “With babies, you can use a baby bath inside the tub to save on water, and if my three kids bathe now, they all get in together.”
To compensate for the tub, the team restricted the flow of the home’s showers to under 2½ gallons a minute.
Bath: The Cast Iron Bath Co.
To compensate for the tub, the team restricted the flow of the home’s showers to under 2½ gallons a minute.
Bath: The Cast Iron Bath Co.
LED strips recessed into the back wall provide energy-efficient lighting high up on the sloped ceiling.
The third-story floor plan shows three bedrooms and a bathroom in each house.
More on Houzz
The Passive House: What It Is and Why You Should Care
Read other stories about green building
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More on Houzz
The Passive House: What It Is and Why You Should Care
Read other stories about green building
Find a pro for your project
Shop for products
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Townhouse at a Glance
Who lives here: The home is for sale.
Location: Greater Manchester, England
Size: Five bedrooms, 2½ bathrooms
Designers: Kit and Ellie Knowles of Ecospheric and Guy Taylor Associates (architecture)
This stunning Victorian townhouse and its neighbor had been converted into apartments in the 1980s, so the aim was to bring back the original character of the building and to use modern technologies to make it environmentally friendly to Passive House Plus standards.
First, the team insulated the building with recycled-paper insulation, and the thick layers on both sides of the building can be seen here clad in copper. The pipes and gutters also are made of copper, chosen for its durability.