Pollard Thomas Edwards designed 18 Passivhaus-certified, 100 per cent affordable council homes for Cambridge Investment Partnership across two small sites on the city’s suburban fringe.

A mix of two- and three-bedroom family homes, including two wheelchair-accessible houses, uses offsite timber-frame construction and a kit-of-parts approach. Working around existing trees, the compact two-storey brick terraces draw on Cambridge’s traditional artisan housing and strengthen the existing street network.

The projects formed part of Cambridge’s Passivhaus pilot, helping build the council’s confidence in an approach that has since become a city-wide commitment for all new council housing.