The Wild House is the first non-domestic Passivhaus Premium in England, and one of only three certified Passivhaus Premiums in the UK.
An educational centre for Doddington Hall’s nature recovery programme Wilder Doddington in Lincolnshire, the Wild House project generates significantly more renewable energy than it consumes.
The Wild House includes a large adaptable space to accommodate two classes of 30 pupils, seminars and conferences, or smaller groups and meetings. This purpose-built pioneering centre for learning and research is set in an area of diverse habitat restoration. The Wild House focusses on education related to wildlife, ecology, freshwater habitats, natural flood management and large-scale nature recovery, while also supporting volunteering, nature-based wellbeing and sustainable construction. It serves as the operational base for Wilder Doddington, including Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) transactions and the Lincoln and Witham Landscape Recovery Project (LWLR).
Office space, a community group hub, and accessible toilets and changing facilities are just part of the centre’s facilities.
Greengauge acted as Passivhaus Certifier on the project.
Strategy
To achieve Passivhaus Premium certification, a 100% solar roof was installed using 309 integrated PV roof panels, capable of generating more renewable energy than the building consumes annually.
This design minimises embodied carbon, locks carbon into the building fabric and supports circular UK-based supply chains. The closed-panel timber construction uses British-grown timber, filled with insulation manufactured from recycled newsprint.
Project team
Client: Doddington Hall
Architect: Steven Dunn Architects
Main Contractor: Daniel Charles Construction
Build system: PYC Group
Passivhaus Consultant: Ecospheric
Passivhaus Certifier: Greengauge
Photos: The Wild House © Doddington Hall
Key data
“The Wild House visitor centre offers a beacon of sustainability to all who visit it. Congratulations to all the team for achieving the demanding requirements of Passivhaus Premium certification.”
Paul Smith, Passivhaus Certifier, Greengauge
Certifier notes
Passivhaus Premium
Delivering a Passivhaus Premium did not add complexity to the certification process. The Passivhaus Consultant just needed to select Premium in the PHPP PER tab. The Certifier’s role is to just ensure that the requirements are met.
Occupancy patterns & profiles
As the Wild House is an education centre, the certification process involved careful examination of predicted occupancy levels to ensure the internal heat gains were not either overestimated or underestimated. To ensure this was as accurate as possible it was important to get input from the client as to intended use. In relation to this variable useage, the visitor centre uses a CO2-controlled MVHR system.
