Contract Award - First Residential Scheme in New Collaboration with Lucy Developments
TALO, the specialist in ultra-low energy offsite timber housing, has been awarded a £1.1m contract by Lucy Developments for a nine-home residential scheme in the canalside village of Wilstone near Tring in Hertfordshire. Moorings is the first project in a new long-term collaboration between the two companies, with further, larger residential sites already in the planning pipeline.
TALO has been selected by Lucy Developments to facilitate the construction of ultra-low energy homes at scale, achieving shorter programmes, outstanding quality and greater cost certainty than traditional construction can offer for the same cost.
The Moorings development will deliver nine two-storey homes – a mix of three and four-bed terraced properties and two four-bed detached homes.
Greg Hilton, Head of Lucy Developments:
“Moorings at Wilstone is an important project for us. The ability to deliver homes of this quality with much lower energy consumption in less time, is a significant advantage, both commercially and to achieve more sustainable development and construction. This is the first step in a wider partnership with TALO and we are now progressing plans for larger sites using their housebuilding solutions.”
To accelerate delivery, the advanced timber superstructure from TALO will be manufactured offsite using high quality, slow-grown Nordic timber protected through a fully dry fabrication and installation process. This will further enhance thermal performance and avoid the common issue of wet timber needing to dry out.
The structures will arrive on site in phases by earlier summer, pre-installed with a high level of insulation, plasterboard, timber cladding and triple glazing, ready for rapid assembly. This means all nine homes will be watertight in just four weeks, allowing the contractor to start internal fitout at an earlier stage and with greater cost and programme certainty.
TALO’s low carbon energy strategy has been specified in parallel with the highly insulated timber superstructure to minimise energy bills – a solar battery package to power hot water and electric underfloor heating and MVHR for enhanced air quality and a healthier internal environment.
Dr Anthony Greer, Executive Director for Corporate Strategy at TALO:
“This new partnership has been created to scale ultra-low energy housebuilding. Lucy Developments has a strong ethos around sustainability, quality and the long-term performance of the homes they build. This alignment makes our collaboration a fantastic fit.
Our offsite superstructure solution and energy strategy will enable their development team to deliver ultra-low energy homes with far greater certainty, reduced build programmes, and enhanced air tightness and energy efficiency than is typically achievable with traditional construction for the same cost.
By using TALO’s integrated solutions, Lucy can scale delivery, reduce risk and accelerate the provision of high-quality family homes to help meet the serious shortfall in new housing.”
Lucy Developments is a long-established and sustainability-focused housebuilder and developer, delivering a wide range of homes for market sale and affordable housing.
The Moorings project is the first of multiple planned sites and is part of Lucy’s vision to make TALO its preferred construction solution for ultra-low energy family homes.
The homes were designed by architects Lewis and Hickey and the technical rationalisation was carried out by Trower Davies. The design reflects local architecture in the village and maximises views of the canal, with features including metal roofing, dark-stained timber cladding, red and buff-coloured brickwork, large triple-glazed windows, projecting bays, and first-floor balconies overlooking the water.
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.