Sheepridge Passivhaus

21°’s last in-house construction team project at Sheepridge, Huddersfield.

Architect Jane Simpson has known 21°’s founding director Bill Butcher for 29 years. So, a few years ago, when she and her husband, Paul Niven, decided to self-build their next home with the comfort they wanted and would deserve in their retirement, they reached out to Bill for his opinion on what to do. 

Jane admits, “We weren’t initially going to do a Passivhaus at Sheepridge, but after conversations with Bill about our original design, we were sold on the concept and realised the potential that a Passivhaus self-build had for us and our needs.” So it was that our Passivhaus project at Sheepridge was born.  

In this blog about the Passivhaus self-build project at Sheepridge, we will discuss the plans for the project and the early stages of the construction so far.  

Why is Sheepridge such an important project for 21°?  

As mentioned in our last blog, Sheepridge marks a significant milestone in the history of the Green Building Store as it will be the final local Passivhaus built by our in-house construction team. For the last fifteen years, our dedicated in-house building team, led by our founding director Bill Butcher has pioneered Passivhaus building and knowledge in the UK through its local Passivhaus construction projects. These projects were key in allowing us to become a true authority on the principles of Passivhaus building in the UK. 

From building the first UK traditional construction Passivhaus at Denby Dale and founding director, Chris Herring helping set up the Passivhaus Trust, Green Building Store saw the potential of low energy building and Passivhaus principles and their impacts in the UK long before others. Indeed, as Scotland looks to adopt Passivhaus standards more widely, new build policymakers across the UK are still playing catch up with our visionary thinking some 15 years later.