Feb 25 2008
George Wimpey South Midlands has been named Innovative Housebuilder of the Year thanks to the exceptional materials and products used in its Oxley Woods new homes in Milton Keynes.
Oxley Woods new homes in Milton Keynes
The coveted Housebuilding Innovation Award from the Home Builders Federation and Housebuilder magazine recognises the sustainable features currently being used in the construction of new houses for sale at the 145-home development.
Judges were impressed by the way new home builder George Wimpey South Midlands' innovations offered significant benefits both to the environment and to homebuyers.
These include the 'EcoHat', a new generation of chimney designed for all new homes at the Milton Keynes development, which filters fresh air coming in to the building and reuses hot air circulating through the stack - complemented by solar energy - to optimise energy saving in the home.
With the EcoHat, new homes achieve a 40 per cent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions compared with a conventional new house of a similar size, and a 50 per cent reduction when the EcoHat is used to top up energy for a hot water system.
The house builder scored highly with the judges for the high levels of insulation made from recycled paper, and sealed glass panel windows to contribute to the airtight, heat-saving build.
George Wimpey's innovations continued to impress outside, with water-saving large capacity butts designed to fill from rainwater running from the roofs and sustainably sourced timber-clad walls of the new houses - and gardens enclosed by 'green screens', living vines on a mesh frame planted at the property boundaries.
The award winning housebuilder also designed each new timber-framed house so that it could be precision cut and partially constructed in a controlled, factory environment, an innovation to reduce waste materials and the need for heavy machinery on-site, at the new Milton Keynes development.
As a result of the advances in design, each new sale home achieves the maximum National Home Energy Rating and a 'Very Good' EcoHomes classification.
While regional housebuilder George Wimpey South Midlands picked up the award for Materials and Products Innovation, George Wimpey was also named overall National Housebuilding Innovator of the Year.
Peter Gurr, Managing Director of George Wimpey South Midlands, was at the London ceremony hosted by Michael Portillo to receive the awards and says: "We're thrilled by the recognition we are receiving both in Milton Keynes and nationally for the groundbreaking innovations we have implemented this year.
"The new development at Oxley Woods, which we created with leading architects Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, offers local people the opportunity to live in sustainable homes for the future, and the energy-saving features are set to shape the way new homes are built across the UK.
"We are proud to be at the forefront of sustainable home design and of the community we are creating in Milton Keynes."
The Housebuilding Innovation awards follow hot on the heels of George Wimpey South Midlands being named Property Developer of the Year by Milton Keynes and North Buckinghamshire Chamber of Commerce at its annual Business Excellence Awards last month. The award was sponsored by leading Commercial Solicitors Kimbells.
Judges examined business growth, customer satisfaction, innovation, sustainability and contribution to the local community, and decided that George Wimpey South Midlands' entry -- which focused on the pioneering design and marketing at Oxley Woods -- was a winning formula.