Willmott Dixon and VELUX marked the start of construction on its ModelHome 2020 project with a ceremony on the site where it will build two zero carbon homes in Rothwell, Kettering.

The ceremony was attended by Lord Best, President of the Local Government Association and Chair of the Hanover Housing Group, as well as the project’s partners, including HTA Architects, Kettering Borough Council and North Northants Development Company.

The two semi-detached houses, called the CarbonLight Homes, are intended to act as a standard for future sustainable design. Located within the second phase of Bovis Homes' Charter Park development, they are designed to deliver a 70% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions on-site, with the remaining 30% offset by funding improvements to existing housing stock in the area in partnership with Kettering Borough Council.


Paramount to the design of the two three and four bedroom houses is that they should promote the health and well-being of the occupants, with the internal environment as healthy as the external one. This can be achieved using high levels of natural daylight and ventilation, together with active design principles.

In addition to substantially reducing carbon emissions, the CarbonLight Homes have been designed so that they are easily replicable for the mass housebuilder and appeal to buyers, embracing modern lifestyles. Significant energy reductions are achieved by using nature in an intelligent way. The sun and wind are used to heat, cool and ventilate the building and rain is used to provide water for flushing toilets and irrigate the gardens.

Construction of the two CarbonLight Homes will begin in the next few weeks. Completion is expected in March 2011, when the two houses will be opened to the public for six months. They will then become the subject of post occupancy evaluation, with the findings used to help inform the future sustainable housing agenda, and eventually sold on the open market.

(CD/GK)