Date
12 September 2008

Times
1430 – Registration and Refreshment
1445 – Tour begins
1730 – Tour ends

Venue
The Watershed
Gables Drive
Hockerton
Southwell
Notts NG25 OQU

Book online now with a credit/debit card!

Event overview
The Hockerton Housing Project is the UK's first earth sheltered, self-sufficient ecological housing development. Project members live a holistic way of life in harmony with the environment, in which all ecological impacts have been considered and accounted for.

The residents of the five houses generate their own clean energy, harvest their own water and recycle waste materials causing no pollution or carbon dioxide emissions.

The houses are amongst the most energy efficient, purpose built dwellings in Europe. Visitors will gain:

• an appreciation of the practicalities of building sustainable
• an understanding of strategies and technologies for ultra low energy building and 'zero heating 'design
• a comprehension of the differences between high thermal mass build and lightweight timber frame construction
• knowledge of the potential solutions and strategies for delivering a zero carbon and autonomous development through renewable energy technologies, and water systems (collection and waste), and how they can be incorporated into buildings
• an insight into what it is really like to live in eco homes and to live sustainable.

Speaker
Nick Martin (one of the project members) combined his interests in renewable energy and low impact developments to consider various concepts that lead him to the earth-sheltered option.

Nick Martin was so convinced by many of the construction principles that he commissioned a rural hamlet of five earth sheltered sustainable dwellings at the Hockerton site, to similar energy and environmental performance standards - autonomous and with 'net zero CO2' emissions.

Tour programme
The tour of the site will highlight renewable energy systems (wind & solar), autonomous water systems and key elements of landscaping. The tour will also take in a visit to one of the project members homes, highlighting key environmental features and ultra low energy building design. 

There will be an AV presentation in the new Sustainable Resource Centre, showing history of the development and explanation of how the homes work, followed by a small exhibition and light refreshments. 

The Sustainable Resource Centre itself, is an innovative sustainable building with zero-heating and meeting zero CO2 and autonomous standards.

Cost

Book online now with a credit/debit card!

For a full programme and a booking form for the event, please see the download section on the right hand side of this page.