Housing Developments

Bell Architects have completed housing developments throughout the north of Ireland, including:

Mcalister homes, coleraine. Kiloy developments, tobermore. Kiloy, kilrea.
Kiloy, dervock.
Jg bradley, dervock.
Kamack, coleraine. Kamack, magherafelt. Watters, mountsandel rd, coleraine. Taggart homes, hillsborough.
Kamack, portstewart.

These developments have ranged from block construction to timber frame. We have always encouraged our developer friends to move towards more sustainable construction methods, and even embrace modern methods of construction, where feasible. Sky Developments have to date been the most progressive with their use of SIP panels in their various developments, including Finaghy Rd South, The Green House, and their social housing scheme of 40 apartments for Connswater.

We are the first architects in Northern Ireland to have achieved a passive house with sky, and the first to design to code 4 in a major social housing scheme.

Timber Frame

Many of our housing developments have been timber frame, however one of the minor drawbacks of this construction method is shrinkage leading to a poorer air-tightness. In any construction utilising timber frame, it is important to re-visit the building a year after completion, filling in shrinkage cracks in order to improve the retention of warm air within the building envelope, and to dramatically improve the air-tightness. Particular attention should be paid to the assembly & jointing of the frame during construction. A weak area causing further air leakage is the first floor, floor to exterior wall junction - this often allows air movement, and sometimes cool air into the first floor void.

Structural Insulated Panels (SIP)

SIP on the other hand, is less prone to shrinkage, and has a significantly higher thermal performance with a potential u-value as low as 0.18 with a 125mm panel.

SIP is also extremely recyclable, and whilst we are aware that polyurethane insulation is not highly favoured by the deep-green environmentalists, we have not found an alternative which can address a real multiple housing need, (it is unrealistic to expect social housing to be made from straw bales & sheeps wool).

Having said the above, we are watching the development of open clay brick construction closely.