Published at 15:41, Wednesday, 27 January 2010

A WEST CUMBRIAN businessman’s innovative eco-house will be featured on Channel 4’s Grand Designs programme later this year.

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Alan Dawson Associates, of Lillyhall,Workington, is currently building an eco-friendly and energy efficient house for owner Alan Dawson and his family, next to his current home in Branthwaite.

The house is the first of its kind and if successful, will form the prototype for the new direction of his business.

Mr Dawson decided to contact Grand Designs as the contemporary design of his house fits in well with the style of the programme.

He said: “I sent them information at the end of last year including drawings and specification details of the house.

“They got back to me and said they were interested. They came to make a pilot video which was shown to Kevin McCloud, the presenter of the show. He found the project of great interest.”

The filming was given the go-ahead and the camera team began filming the plot and ongoing fabrication of the house.

Traditionally, Alan Dawson Associates designed and manufactured bespoke art and architectural metalwork, but since the recession Mr Dawson decided he needed to move the company in a new direction.

He said: “The recession has prompted the change, for two years we have been designing a product which is a factory-built house.

“It is an eco-house so it is very energy efficient both in its build and in its lifetime.”

The house will comprise of a steel frame and all factory built insulated wall, floor and roof panels will fit into the spaces in the rigid steel frame.

All the components of the house are built and fully finished in the factory and assembled on a prepared site, allowing for quick and efficient construction.

The company is using local materials wherever possible for the prototype house and hopes to continue this usage when further houses are commissioned.

Mr Dawson said: “It will provide work for us here and local employment for people with other skills to make other components of the house.

“Companies in Cumbria could produce the component parts as part of the energy coast vision.

“This eco-house would be ideal because the area has already been encouraged through the energy coast project to become eco-friendly, this would fit into that very well.

“In the first house the finishes are locally grown hardwood from Lorton, the floors are Lake District elm, the insulation is lambswool from Appleby and the renewable energy supply will come from Durdar, near Carlisle. Other parts will be manufactured worldwide but all the labour will be local.

“The more that things are locally sourced and built the smaller the carbon footprint. The aim for everything is to source and build locally.”

Mr Dawson has been formulating the idea of steel framed houses for many years but was prompted to put the idea into action when the recession became inevitable.

He said: “I started thinking about it 20 years ago when working on Canary Wharf. I watched them build one building from a steel frame and with factory built panels complete with windows. I thought that’s the way to build a house.

“When Northern Rock went I could see what was coming, I knew there would be a downturn in construction and we had a lot of contracts put back.

“I wanted to diversify into something which is in massive demand, eco-houses.

“It is different to what we were doing before but some elements are the same.

“We’ve had to learn a lot about renewable energy systems, working with timber and insulation and we have brought all our old knowledge together.”

The steel-framed eco-houses, named Adaptahaus, would be suitable for both private and social houses and provide many advantages over traditionally built houses.

As well as being friendly to the environment the Adaptahaus’ energy efficiency means cheaper energy and water bills through its use of rain water harvesting and solar panels. Another advantage is that building work is not affected by the weather as all parts are finished inside the factory and transported to the site.

All groundwork to the site can be done independently of the house and the house will be ready to move in within three weeks of the components arriving on a prepared site.

Mr Dawson said: “The first house will take 14 weeks to build and a maximum of three weeks to put together. Production time for further houses built this way will depend on how big the industry becomes. Another unique selling point with these houses is that they are not dependent on any internal walls being structural making it completely flexible.

“None of the internal walls are integral to the structure so walls can be moved and changed to suit the customer.”

The steel framed buildings have great potential for social housing due to the high standards of efficiency which are required in the sector, he added.

Government funding is currently available for buildings which can meet a minimum of level three of the Code for Sustainable Homes.

Mr Dawson said: “Next year social housing will be required to reach level 4 (of the Code for Sustainable Homes), our houses have already achieved this and we are working to gain level five status.

“Within another decade the skyline will change quite dramatically, new-build criteria for houses will focus on the efficiency of the house rather than matching the architectural style of surrounding buildings to limit the negative impact we have on global warming.

“Our steel framed houses have a very real potential for mass production which would reinvigorate the manufacturing economy in the UK.”

The company hopes that the successful completion of the first Adaptahaus will lead to volume production of steel framed houses and be the main output of the businesses.

Despite the environmental value of these houses and their potential contribution to the energy coast vision the company has been unable to secure any funding from the government for the project.

The company hopes that eco-friendly investors will see the potential of this new venture and its contribution to the housing market.

Mr Dawson has been in the metal work business for over 30 years, starting out by setting up a small craft industry in the far north west of Scotland selling decorative candles and hand-forged iron work.

He returned to Cumbria in 1975 where he established a candle workshop and retail outlet in Maryport and a blacksmiths’ forge on the outskirts of the town. By 1977 he decided to concentrate all his energies to blacksmithing and built up his reputation from there.

In 1986 he formed a joint venture with a local engineering company to form Shepley Dawson Architectural Engineering Ltd.

As part of this partnership, Alan Dawson worked on many high profile projects such as Princes Square Speciality Shopping Centre in Glasgow, Canary Wharf, Disneyland Paris, Al Ain International Airport in the UAE and the Lakeside Shopping Centre at Thurrock.

Due to the difficult economic climate in the early 90s the Shepley Group fragmented with the bespoke art and architectural side of the group forming Alan Dawson Associates Ltd.

Over the following 15 years, Alan Dawson Associates grew in size and reputation and worked on high profile projects such as Liverpool One, Wembley Stadium and the O2 Arena.

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