2016 Sustainable Building Awards Build 21 Company: Bow Tie Construction Email:
[email protected] Web Address: www.bowtieconstruction.co.uk Address: Unit 86, Basepoint Business Centre, High Wycombe, Bucks HP12 3RL Telephone: 0203 771 2197 ow Tie Construction has successfully operated in the London, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Warwickshire areas for the past five years delivering residential refurbishments, extensions, conversions and new builds. Going beyond Building Regulations minimum requirements for energy efficiency and building to Passivhaus standards offers considerable advantages to the owner and occupier, as Hagop is eager to emphasize. “Bow Tie Construction are one of very few firms with the experience and expertise to deliver this in London and the surrounding areas. “We use bespoke project management software to keep our clients informed on our progress and track costs and change orders day-by-day. They are able to see daily progress photos from the build and can see at exactly what stage all works are and where we are on the schedule. If adverse weather forces schedule and cost changes these are immediately visible. “Strong emphasis is always placed on quality of work and attention to detail. We get excellent feedback and reviews from our clients and much of our work comes from word of mouth. We ensure customer satisfaction before, during and after completion of all our projects. We offer a one-year workmanship guarantee as testimony to the quality we provide.” The firm offers comprehensive services from project conception to completion. Services include low-energy consultancy, Passivhaus design, excavation, site preparation, laying foundations, concrete, screed, brickwork, carpentry, stripping out and making good, kitchens, bathrooms, joinery, flooring, window fitting, decoration, plumbing, electrics, MVHR design and fit, heating system design and fit, plumbing, electrical, restoration, finishing and even cleaning. Hagop showcases one of the firm’s most recent projects and explains how it highlights the firm’s dedication to quality and attention to detail. “Recently, we undertook full refurbishment of a 400sqm Grade 2 listed office building in Bloomsbury returning it to its original usage as a townhouse. We used Passivhaus principles to upgrade the thermal efficiency and airtightness to reduce energy demand and improve occupier comfort. The whole house was lined with interior wall insulation using a mixture of injected cavity wall insulation, sprayed insulation, wood fibre insulation and aerogel spacetherm bonded to magnesium board. We kept existing covings intact and extensively repaired and rebuilt damaged plaster covings to restore the period look. “We inserted vacuum glass technology between the original windows and shutter boxes to provide a unique bespoke solution that retains the existing sash window boxes and full functionality of the shutter boxes. Getting planning permission for this upgrade was very challenging and we worked extensively with the local authority to achieve this. “All of this was married with a contemporary extension with a light well, exposed timber and triple glazed windows. The original part of the building looks completely traditional. We are very pleased that the majority of thermal upgrades cannot be seen by the naked eye.” As a final comment, Hagop made it clear that his firm is dedicated to the Passivhaus approach. “Looking to the future, we are very positive about Passivhaus building. At government, city and council level demand for Passivhaus is growing steadily. Brussels, Dublin, Oslo and a number of cities and counties in Europe and the USA now stipulate meeting the Passivhaus standard as a requirement for achieving planning approval. These are major milestones that demonstrate widespread understanding of its effectiveness at meeting its stated goals. There are around 40,000 Passive houses in Europe, around 500 of which are in the UK, with a further 360 units currently being built by Camden Council. “Within the wider industry, we are noticing that customers are increasing demand for energy efficient building even if the government is stripping back its support under lobby pressure from the biggest builder-developers who are driven purely by profit. Anyone building a home is looking to lock in value, potentially right through to retirement when they may not have the income to afford expensive energy bills. Pairing Passivhaus with renewable energy can eliminate these bills altogether, and we believe, is the ideal solution.” Best Sustainable Home Refurbishment Firm 2016 - Buckinghamshire Bow Tie Construction is a specialist construction company with expertise in Passivhaus and low energy building. We invited Hagop Matossian to talk us through the firm and how it aims to change the world for the better. B AR160060 Bow Tie Construction