Hugh Broughton Architects, drew from their experiences from another extreme climate to develop the designs for the 3^rd International Architecture Competition, Extreme Housing for Cherepovets, presented by Hugh Broughton and Philip Wells. The firm is responsible for the design and construction oversight of the British research station at Halley and the Spanish Antarctic Base on Livingstone Island in the frigid Antarctic. In designing for Cherepovets, the team applied a similar design to manage the climate changes and needs of Russian climate swings from steamy summers to snowy winters.

Each of the four house styles developed for the competition draws upon the surrounding context. Dense pine forests and the glistening Rybinsk Reservoir border the site. Long grasses, gently dancing in the breeze and the vast expanse of the Russian sky, dominate the main area of the site. Each house style responds to this setting. Hovering above the ground, the houses open up towards the south to maximise relationships between inside and the surrounding landscape. To the north the houses turn their backs on the fierce, freezing northerly winds with more solid, protective elevations. Tough and steely on the outside, the interiors provide a warm cocoon for residents enriched by moments of delight. Living areas are designed around central fireplaces, providing focus as well as contributing to the energy efficiency of the houses. Walls and floors are lined with local timber.

Fabricated using colour-coated steel coil monocoque rings, residents would be able to choose the colour of their homes from a palette, which evokes traditional Russian rural homes, enhancing cultural context, and bringing variety and vitality to the development. Colour within houses has been chosen with the help of a colour psychologist to help combat the effects of seasonal affected disorder (SAD), a common malaise of long, dark winters. Steel-framed glazed doors enhance spaciousness and allow views along top lit circulation spines. The layouts allow choices of circulation on arrival; guests can be ushered directly into the living space while family members can head straight for their rooms, creating a gradient of intimacy, which mirrors contemporary Russian family life.

The designs demonstrate the versatility of steel as a construction material for innovative sustainable housing. All the house types can be constructed using modular monocoque steel rings. The rings are made of four panels (two sides, a top and a bottom), allowing two different widths and heights of accommodation. The monocoque structure eliminates the need for a separate frame; instead the walls, floor and roof become the structure. The skin will be formed using thin layers of steel coil sheet manufactured by SeverStal, separated with thin gauge steel spacers, which together act as a strong, composite structure with sufficient strength to resist the applied loads of wind and snow. The lightweight, economic and efficient structure can be moulded to create elegant, aerodynamic modular rings.

The pre-glazed monocoque steel rings will weigh around 60kg/m². They will be manufactured in sections and can be quickly lifted in place and bolted together to create a weathertight enclosure for the interior fitout. Once the rings are erected, the internal insulated linings are installed. As snow depths in winter range from 350mm to 2 meters per annum, the structure is raised above ground on high ductility galvanised steel beams suitable for very low temperatures. Raising the buildings improves thermal efficiency and minimises impact from freeze-thaw cycles. The beams are supported on adjustable helical steel screw piles, which have a very high load capacity, cause minimal soil disturbance and can be removed from the ground when the houses reach the end of their lives.

Modularity and prefabrication bring significant benefits in terms of flexibility, construction time, maintenance, cost certainty and quality. Adopting mass production techniques and procuring multiple units will significantly improve the economic viability of the scheme. Insulated linings will be panelised and floors will be prefabricated as cassettes incorporating access to service runs. Bathrooms and kitchens pods can be manufactured in factories as prefabricated units with simple plug and play connections to pre-manufactured service cassettes. The benefits of this construction approach has been proven by the success of our work in Antarctica.

Each house has in-built flexibility to allow residents to re-arrange their homes as their needs dictate. Houses can be extended by adding rings or infilling open areas. Flexibility is significantly enhanced by the modular monocoque design. The interior is free from structure, so walls can easily be added or removed. The flexibility also gives residents choice in determining the layout which suits them best. For example in ‘The House by the water' version a banya (or sauna) is included with direct access to the winter air and frozen reservoir, whilst in the other houses the same zone is used for a walk-in wardrobe or en-suite shower room.

The design draws upon PassivHaus principles to create sustainable, energy-efficient homes. The insulating layer placed behind the modular monocoque structure creates highly insulated envelopes with an exceptional U-value of 0.15 W/m²/ºC, complemented by the use of high performance triple glazed windows with a U-value of 0.8 W/m²/ºC. Air permeability is minimised and cold bridging eradicated by separation of structural and insulated zones. All the houses utilise mechanical ventilation with as much heat recovery from exhaust air as possible. Integrated steel fin solar shading helps reduce heat build up in summer. These simple measures will reduce energy consumption to around 80 kWh/m²/a. Although they add capital cost, the incorporation of further elements will provide future benefits for home owners through reduced running costs.

The framed, black painted steel louvers, which shield south facing facades, also act as solar thermal collectors and can meet 40% of the annual hot water demand. Locally fabricated steel wood burning stoves can meet 70% of the space heating and 50% of the hot water demand. At peak times and to suit intermittent occupation, small gas boilers will meet remaining or start-up demand. Amorphous silicone thin film photovoltaic arrays can be adhered to roofs and will offset electrical demand for the mechanical ventilation fans. Collectively these ‘bolt-on' measures will reduce energy consumption to an impressive 40 kWh/m²/a and carbon dioxide emissions by 37%.

To see all of the design's versions, floor plans and other information, see the Summary Document

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