Cranwood House, located in Muswell Hill London is a complex and sensitive site where Civic Engineers and Levitt Bernstein collaborated on the design of 41 new ultra-low energy homes, using Passivhaus principles for the north London borough. Built over the former Cranley Garden railway station, the site’s existing terrace homes will be retained while our civil and structural engineering will make full use of the existing topography to store storm water without any need for encroaching on residences.

A fully sustainable surface water management solution with no hard engineered tanks but with rain gardens, permeable paving and a cascading water feature will be used. The centre of the site is to be landscaped with trees and vegetation native to Highgate Wood to encourage endemic biodiversity. The shared vision with the landscape architects also saw a communal courtyard garden, which provides amenity and children’s play space for residents to socialise close to their homes included in the design.

London Borough of Haringey became the first London borough to commit to becoming a zero carbon borough by 2050; as such, the buildings are being designed based on PassivHaus principles. Triple glazed windows, photovoltaic panels on the roofs, additional insulation and thermal breaks are just some of the measures that have been integrated into the design of the project. All the homes are either dual or triple aspect.

Steel elements for the roof structures will be formed from 99% recycled material and bolted connections will allow the steel frame to be dismantled easily and the sections reused in the future. Civic Engineers also provided FRA/Drainage Strategy and Transport services. The project recently received planning permission and is currently being tendered.