The Green Base
Passivhaus Horticultural and Community Centre
Helena Partnerships are the largest social housing landlord in St. Helens. We won the tender to design a new HQ building for their landscaping / horticultural team. This team had a clear vision of how sustainability could be at the core of all their maintenance and planting practices, throughout their housing estates. They also wanted the building to be an example of best-practice sustainability; and for it to be a community focus for wider inclusion and education about the benefits of horticulture of all kinds for tenants’ own gardens, and their social life and skills. The client group adopted a very open approach to the design brief; they were keen that the centre should be accessible and inviting, despite being in an area at the time, of high vandalism. We promoted Passivhaus as a great focus for the project. Helena were enthusiastic to pursue this stringent target. Paragon Construction were the main contractors. For more detailed information, please see the download below, which gives a full technical report. Building completed 2011.