Sustainability series - Blog 2 Your agenda

— 13 Mar 2025

Our intro blog to sustainability set out design principles we adapt to strategies, but ultimately the route you want to go down will be constrained by the site e.g.

• Is there enough room for thick walls?
• Is there site space for geothermal / PV arrays etc.?
• Do you need to use heavy engineering e.g. concrete basements and big foundations, retaining walls etc. because of the ground conditions?
• Can you optimise on site orientation for solar gains and solar generation and shading?

Are you concerned about:

• Your impact on the planet?
• Your consumption of natural resources and energy consumption/CO2 generation
• Your long-term running costs?

Jonathan Rhind Architects can help identify the pros and cons of those choices; and their impacts on cost, programme, design limitations and opportunities.

Our case studies give a cross section of examples of what can be achieved in various situations but every building, site, project, budget etc is different.

Jonathan Rhind Architects take a holistic approach to sustainability and carbon reduction and the examples on our website only give a flavour of what is possible.

Case study – Grade I listed medieval manor

The careful repair and complete renovation of this Grade I listed manor included designing a whole new heating strategy for the main house and also the ancillary barn conversion.

Ground source heat pumps fed by ground loops in the adjoining field provide the main source of energy for the entire house; in a combination of radiators and underfloor heating. The underfloor heating was used in tandem with geocell foam glass gravel insulation beneath a limecrete floor, which creates a thermal mass similar to that of the existing thick masonry walls, helping to keep the property cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

The property was entirely repointed in lime mortar - essential for use in historic properties because of its breathability, but it is also acknowledged as an excellent absorber of carbon.

The clients were keen to incorporate sustainable energy sources and improve the energy efficiency of the Manor in the context of the Grade I listed building. We helped them to work out the best way to the achieve this.