Houlton School: From Listed Building to Passivhaus: Great Learning Environments
Since 2021, the Transforming Lives Educational Trust has grown Houlton School into a popular secondary school at the heart of Urban & Civic’s new community of Houlton, outside Rugby. vHH Architects created the campus by the adaptation and retrofit of two, listed, industrial buildings with three new blocks with high environmental standards. The Trust are now working with Urban & Civic and vHH architects to develop primary facilities and turn the school into an all through school. This talk explores our journey together, how good education settings benefit from holistic sustainability, and the lessons learned

An embodied carbon led approach to refurbishment – lessons learned from Holy Trinity school
The Holy Trinity School project, part of the DfE School Building Replacement Programme, aimed to refurbish a 20-year-old building to net zero carbon in operation (NZCiO) standards. Initial plans included various façade improvements without considering embodied or whole life carbon. During the bid stage, a carbon-led approach was proposed, focusing on life expectancy, age, and condition. The project, secured with Bouygues, developed an optimal decarbonisation strategy during RIBA 3 and 4 stages, including low embodied carbon upgrades, heat pumps, improved ventilation, LED lighting, and PV panels. This approach meets DfE objectives and serves as a template for future refurbishments.

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