Pioneering property developer gs8 brings forward plans for its ground-breaking residential development in East London.

Orford Mews, London, will set a new benchmark for sustainable development. Pioneering property developer gs8 brings forward plans for its ground-breaking residential development in East London.

Orford Mews is the innovative pilot scheme for a sustainable building framework delivering viable Carbon and Energy Positive, Zero Waste housing. The collection of nine residential mews properties, forming part of their rapidly increasing regeneration portfolio, will provide the community-led and uniquely designed dwellings London based developers gs8 are known for.

The project is driven by their ambition to deliver a revolutionary design model that dispels the belief that high quality, sustainable development is not as viable as traditional construction methods. As a tangible benchmark, Orford Mews will achieve and exceed the RIBA 2030 operational energy and embodied carbon targets even before incorporating on-site renewable energy or carbon offsetting schemes.

gs8’s team, including architect Michael Lynas of Studio Anyo and Kirsten Henson of KLH sustainability, were asked to eliminate any traditional design and engineering methods and challenged to find new solutions over four years. Orford Mews represents the realisation of gs8’s aspiration to create genuinely sustainable, viable, and future-proof city dwellings without compromising building aesthetics. Crucially, the dwellings will be liveable and user friendly, driven by the simplicity of design. The resultant framework has been designed to apply to future projects, both residential and commercial.

Architect Michael Lynas devised the contemporary mews homes by incorporating a series of passive design elements including living walls and roofs, material choices including timber and reclaimed brick, innovative thermal massing solutions, and roof orientation to optimise solar energy generation.

Situated in Walthamstow - an area making considerable strides in regeneration - the eight family houses and one three-bed apartment will qualify potential residents with a questionnaire to assess their willingness to maximise the properties’ sustainability potential. The contemporary, timber-clad homes will also have access to:

• Community Garden - The communal garden spaces will be created by London Glades, award-winning landscape designers, and designed to forage with edible plants for all residents.

• Living Walls and Roofs - Living walls have been integrated into the design for aesthetic and air quality purposes, with bespoke moss roofs further improving air quality

• Neighbourhood App - Developed to provide real-time energy usage stats, suggestions to reduce consumption, smart home technology, and gamification features.

• Wellbeing Space - A multifunctional space to develop a sense of community amongst residents.

• Reuse Centre - The space works as a social meeting place in the development where people gather to swap, give, take and reuse things in line with circular economy principles.

gs8’s development will achieve the following goals through the construction of the Orford Mews pilot scheme:

• Zero Waste – the application of industry-leading circular economy principles, reusing 100% of non-contaminated materials from the existing buildings in the finished development.

• Energy Positive – buildings have been designed to produce and reduce energy and heat loss and gain, requiring occupants to consume less energy daily, resulting in a surplus.

• Renewables – buildings will be powered entirely by renewable sources, such as solar, heat, and air, so residents will enjoy little, to no, utility bills.

• Materials – the materials specified at Orford Mews are assessed on their embodied carbon and sourced locally as a priority.

• Construction – developments are both sustainable in construction and in supporting local communities. We use local labour and materials to help local businesses and sustainable buildings.

Discover more about gs8.