Orchard Fields

Orchard Fields is the latest development from the award-winning Stonewood Homes. The 88-house estate near Cirencester includes 26 affordable properties and has been constructed to meet the AECB Building Standard (now superseded by the AECB CarbonLite™ Standard) – requiring them to have very low energy demand and highly insulated building envelopes. To achieve the demanding U-values with a slim construction on the flat roofed areas of some properties, the OPTIM-R Roofing System was installed with Thermaroof TR27. 

Orchard Fields has been built with a sense of community at its heart. The “landscape led” layout incorporates four different courtyards planted with fruit trees. Stonewood Design developed a range of different property archetypes, ranging from 1 to 5 bedrooms, each taking their name from different varieties of the fruits in the orchards. 

All homes have been built to the AECB Building Standard which requires that the properties have an energy and cooling demand of less than 40 kWh/(m²a) – around a third of that of new homes built under the Building Regulations at the time of construction. To deliver this, the homes needed to be highly airtight, with mechanical ventilation heat recovery (MVHR) systems fitted to retain heat whilst providing a supply of fresh air. All elements also needed to be insulated to a high standard, with a typical average weighted U-value of just 0.10 W/m²K for each of the walls, floors and roofs.