Friday 5 July 2013

Gale & Snowden present at the 2013 Green Cornwall Show

Gale & Snowden were invited by Cornwall County Council and The Cornwall Sustainable Building Trust to run a seminar as part of the Green Cornwall Show which took place on Thursday 27th and Friday 28th June 2013.  The event was held at Heartlands, Pool near Redruth.

The title of the seminar that David Gale presented at the event was 'Building Biology - Healthy Buildings'.

Building Biology is defined as the study of the holistic interrelationships between humans and their living environment.

The movement was founded in Germany by a group of professionals in the 1960s from a variety of disciplines concerned about the inability of post war housing to support health and ecology.  It has grown to other countries and now is a recognised authority on healthy buildings.

David started his career as a Biologist, studying Applied Biological Studies at Bristol, then continued his studies to become an Architect.  He has always been interested in how our living environment effects and influences us and from Gale & Snowden's inception over 20 years ago, we have attempted to put into practice many principles embodying a healthy building approach to all our work.

The presentation was an introduction to Building Biology, aimed at the general public.  The talk reviewed the key concepts that underpin Building Biology and then explained the four interrelating elements that Building Biology considers:  Air Quality; Water Quality; Materials; and Energy (Electromagnetic Radiation).  The talk also presented a number of Gale & Snowden built projects as case study examples.

There are many aspects about our build environment that we should be concerned with when it comes to our health and the health of our ecology.  Often people are unaware that their built environment can be detrimental to their health.

"We shape our buildings, and afterwards our buildings shape us" (Winston Churchill).

So the question is - How is your home or workplace shaping you?  You can find out and then choose to make things better.

The 'Building Biology - Healthy Buildings' presentation is available to look at below.

If you are interested in finding out more about healthy buildings please visit our webpage, and we would be happy to hear from you - please email us.




Gale & Snowden Passivhaus developments for Exeter City Council receive enthusiastic support

Two developments of Passivhaus council housing by Gale & Snowden Architects for Exeter City Council have been praised by Exeter Civic Society - an influential and respected local voice which is consulted on new developments within the city, and aims to promote high standards of planning and architecture in Exeter.

The following response was received during the planning consultation period:

"We are very pleased to let you know of our enthusiastic support for the design of these new council houses.  We do think it is a credit to the City Council to be proposing buildings; and with all credit to the architects Gale & Snowden; at long last for the 21st century.  As you know, we look at a lot of applications; many from large developers; which we consider are; if anything; only paying lip service to present and future needs, whilst in practice simply reproducing the past.

The Passivhaus principles are clearly an excellent framework and without going into detail we would highlight the central quality that '...allows units to be designed without a conventional heating system'.

We look forward to seeing the finished units, expecting the colour treatment to add to the gaiety of the city.

This is courageous and forward looking, and we wish we could see much more of it."


Enhancing our environment - conceptual elevation of new Exeter City Council Housing with integrated landscaping

Reinvention of the city terrace - conceptual visualisation  

No fuss and low cost - intelligent low energy, affordable housing achieved by simple design and good solar orientation