At last night's Passivhaus Trust Awards ceremony, two projects we worked on stole the show, each winning a prestigious award. Agar Grove Estate Redevelopment (Phase 1a) was crowned winner in the Large Projects category, while Cranmer Road won the People's Choice.

Passivhaus is a world-leading energy and comfort standard with a uniquely hands-on process of delivery and is, in many ways, a formalisation of Max Fordham's approach to building design that we've applied for over 50 years. We believe Passivhaus is a key component for delivering net zero carbon buildings, as it has been shown to deliver buildings with low energy use in practice, and a small performance gap between design and reality. It works best with strong buy-in from the client, the whole design team, and the contractor, which was the case on both projects.

Agar Grove Estate, due to be the largest Passivhaus development in the UK when completed, is a major 493 home masterplan for the London Borough of Camden. On Phase 1a, which was completed in May 2018 and achieved full Passivhaus 'Classic' Certification, we provided sustainability, M&E, and Passivhaus services.

While the whole team for Phase 1a, and the masterplan as a whole, involves too many to list them all here, key collaborators include Hawkins\Brown, Architype, WARM, Hill Partnership, Mae, Stantec, and Grant Associates. You can read more about the project on our Net Zero Carbon Guide, or watch the submission film below:

"There was a desire to do something extraordinary... Residents are happy with their new homes and we're getting data back that shows the building is performing how it was designed." - Michelle Christensen, Camden Council

Cranmer Road Student Accommodation is an ultra-low energy, all electric, Passivhaus development for King's College Cambridge. Fifty-nine graduate student bedrooms are provided across two new accommodation buildings each of differing modern character, both designed to sit comfortably alongside the neighbouring arts and crafts villas. With its low embodied carbon structure and low operational carbon emissions, Cranmer Road is an exemplar student housing project that showcases many of the approaches that are essential for current and future projects aspiring to achieve net zero carbon.

Working alongside Allies and Morrison, Smith and Wallwork, and Faithful and Gould, we provided MEP, Passivhaus, and Acoustic services. You can find out more about the project on our Net Zero Carbon Guide, or watch the submission film below:

"King’s College is delighted with the Cranmer buildings, their quality design, construction, finish and energy effectiveness. From the start the students were involved in the planning for low carbon yet comfortable buildings, and it is believed this has been achieved." - Philip Isaac, Domus Bursar at King's College Cambridge

Congratulations also to Mark Siddall at LEAP and all involved in the Larch Corner project, which won the Small Projects category.

You can read about all of the shortlisted and winning projects on the Passivhaus Trust website.