Muse, the nationwide placemaker and urban regeneration business of Morgan Sindall Group, has become the largest private developer to join the Passivhaus Trust.
With experience delivering new homes and places to Passivhaus standard, Muse will help inform the work of the Trust as it supports the UK built environment sector to meet the UK’s carbon reduction targets.
The Passivhaus Trust is an independent, non-profit organisation which provides leadership in the UK for the adoption of the Passivhaus standard, methodology, and principles. Passivhaus is a proven and effective way of delivering high comfort, healthy, low energy buildings and homes at scale.
As the leading international low energy design standard, over 65,000 buildings have been delivered to this standard across Europe. Building to Passivhaus standards offers a route to help the UK achieve bold carbon reduction targets for the built environment sector.
Muse has recently completed the delivery of Greenhaus in Salford, which includes 96 affordable homes built to Passivhaus standards. Homes at Greenhaus use up to 70-90% less energy than a traditional home and have been delivered in partnership with housing association, Salix Homes.
Greenhaus is the largest Passivhaus affordable housing development in the North West to date. Work has also begun at Willohaus, which will deliver a further 100 Passivhaus homes, as part of the £2.5bn Salford Crescent regeneration.
By joining the Trust as members Muse will have access to dedicated training and research and contribute to events and seminars aimed at strengthening the understanding of the sustainability standard and supporting the sector to deliver more energy efficient homes.
Phil Mayall, Managing Director at Muse, said: “We’re delighted to be the first major developer to join the Passivhaus Trust. As we’ve demonstrated at Greenhaus and now Willohaus, the Passivhaus standard is an effective way to support our industry reach net zero targets, as well as delivering new homes which are comfortable and energy efficient – meaning lower bills for communities that most need them.
“By leveraging our success in Salford, we can share best practice, as well as lessons learnt. As we deliver more homes to Passivhaus standards we can learn from other businesses and industries to positively shape communities across the country.”
Jon Bootland, Chief Executive of the Passivhaus Trust commented: “The Passivhaus Trust has been impressed with Muse’s approach to delivering cost-effective Passivhaus social housing in Salford and is delighted to have the company on board as Passivhaus Trust members. We welcome the experience of developers such as Muse in demonstrating how Passivhaus can be delivered at scale across the UK. “