TALO Awarded its Third and Largest Housebuilding Contract for Balma Group
TALO Awarded its Third and Largest Housebuilding Contract for Balma Group
Ultra-low energy housing specialist, TALO, has been awarded its third and largest contract to date by Balma Group for a £4m residential development in Shoreham, Kent.
Ultra-low energy housing specialist, TALO, has been awarded its third and largest contract to date by Balma Group for a £4m residential development in Shoreham, Kent.
The Barons will provide five 5-bed, high specification private residences on a rural site overlooking the Kent Downs. The architects for the project delivery are Chapter Architects.
This project follows the success of Croft Mews at Edenbridge – a mews-style scheme for rent and market sale, which TALO delivered for Balma to industry acclaim.
TALO’s full package of housing solutions has again been specified by Balma Group for TheBarons – its advanced timber offsite superstructure system, shallow foundations, energypackage and external timber finishes that are pre-installed offsite in the factory.
The new ultra-low energy homes at The Barons take influence from barn-style architectureand are designed to minimise environmental impact and to meet inclusive design standardsfor multi-generational, sustainable living.
James Everest, Managing Director, Balma Group:
“
Following the success of our two previous projects, we had no hesitation in specifying TALO’s housebuilding solutions for The Barons. At Croft Mews, TALO reduced the build programme by around six months and delivered watertight homes ready for fit out in just four months from receipt of order. This would have taken around 12 months using traditional construction.
That programme saving has significant commercial benefits for us as a developer, allowing earlier completion and a much faster return on investment. Importantly, the quality of the structures and energy performance standards of homes built by TALO give us a much stronger platform for delivering new housing – whether high specification homes for market sale or affordable homes for rent.
The Barons reflects the confidence we have in TALO’s approach. We are now appraising all new residential sites with their solutions in mind because it enables us to build better quality,more energy-efficient homes whilst reducing risk and improving the economics of new housing provision.”
Joseph Edwards, Director, Chapter Architects:
“Having now worked with TALO on three projects, we have seen at first-hand how its offsite approach delivers exceptional build quality, thermal efficiency and air tightness without the significant cost premium required to achieve this standard traditionally.
The Barons development is located on a rural green belt site with sensitive ecology and adjacent to ancient woodland. This means maximising construction of these homes offsite in a factory is particularly beneficial. TALO’s lightweight foundation system is also much less intrusive – significantly reducing excavation, vehicle movements and waste to landfill.
These solutions are a very good fit – for the environmental considerations of this site and to achieve ultra-low energy performance for homeowners.”
Each home in this courtyard development is targeting an EPC A rating – which is standardfor TALO homes to radically reduce energy bills. Electric underfloor heating and hot waterwill be powered by solar energy and each home will have EV charging, and mechanicalventilation and heat recovery to maintain a higher quality internal environment.
Triple glazed picture windows and sliding doors will maximise views over the surrounding countryside and will be pre-installed in the TALO factory to improve air tightness and further reduce work on site.
A palette of materials has been specified for the external finishes to reflect the rural context.
Some of the homes will have a double height entrance hall and gallery landing,demonstrating the design flexibility of the TALO superstructure system – which can be used for detached, semi-detached and terraced homes, as well as low-rise apartments.TALO combines proven offsite technology from Finland with advanced design and manufacturing processes to build ultra-low energy homes. It partners with housing providers,architects, housebuilders and residential developers across the UK with the aim of increasing the productivity, cost efficiency, quality and sustainability of ultra-low energy, low-rise homes – whether for market sale, private rent, shared ownership, or affordable housing.