Agar Grove

Claimed to be the largest Passivhaus development to date in the UK and certainly Camden Council’s largest community investment project, Agar Grove Estate, in North West London, is undergoing a six-phase major regeneration due for completion in 2025. The mixed-tenure scheme will provide 493 new homes to help meet Camden's housing needs. There will be a mix of one, two, three and four bedroom homes, with full width balconies on the upper floors. By meeting Passivhaus standard the development will also achieve the highest levels of sustainability and energy efficiency. However, a critical element in any design process involving efficient thermal insulation is the avoidance of thermal bridging. With the Agar Grove development the risk of thermal bridging is primarily at the connectivity points involving balconies and parapets. One of the most technically advanced countermeasures is the Isokorb® range of structural thermal breaks from Schöck. A major reason for the superior performance of this product type is the thickness of the insulation body, increased from the standard 80mm thick to 120mm. High quality stainless steel bars with improved tensile strength are also an integral part of the unit. With parapets, the conventional method is to wrap the perimeter of the wall with an insulation barrier. However, the Schöck Isokorb® used here offers a solution that is more cost-effective and more thermally efficient than wrapped parapets. Its 120mm insulation thickness results in low psi-values and therefore significantly reduces heat loss.