The Centre for Architecture and the Sustainable Environment’s Dalby Square project was shortlisted in three categories: Conservation, Residential Minor and Environmental Performance in the Kent Design and Development Awards and won ‘highly commended’ in the Environmental Performance category. Focusing on key national priorities of climate change and aging population, the project evaluated exemplar climate change adaptation and retrofit strategies for heritage townhouses, while promoting opportunities for inter-generational living.
The Dalby Square project in Margate is a cross-sector collaboration between Kent County Council (KCC), Thanet District Council, CASE (Centre for Architecture and Sustainable Environment) at the University of Kent, the School of Psychology and the private sector. The aim was to develop and retrofit the KCC owned property at 12a Dalby Square into an exemplar residence that simultaneously addresses the challenges of climate change and promotes opportunities for inter-generational living, whilst also ensuring that the existing architectural details of the property are conserved and restored.
The refurbishment of the heritage townhouse in Dalby Square, Margate, has been completed and Kent County Council are looking for tenants. The three-generation family will be part of the innovative project, where extensive monitoring will take place, to evaluate the climate change adaptation strategies, whilst focusing on overheating, thermal comfort and energy performance, while testing the concept of multi-generation living. A ‘Sustainable Heritage Toolkit’ will be published to help other coastal towns across the UK.