October 2010
In response to this RIBA competition for new sustainable housing in Salford, A-Zero developed the theme of solar access in high density urban settings, a long standing research interest of the practice. Developing the requirement of the brief to develop the design should consider occupants of all ages and life-styles, the proposal examined how the built morphology could ensure sunlight availability to all apartments according to specific occupancy patterns. This strategy provides significant benefits in terms of amenity and energy, with passive solar design playing an important role in in the environmental performance of individual apartments.