ECOoronation Street House has gotten green make-over at the Ideal Home Show 2011
by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
ONE of the most famous terraced home addresses in Britain, No 1 Coronation Street, sponsored by Harveys, has been given a facelift for the first time ever at this year's Ideal Home Show 2011, which runs from the 11th-27th March at Earls Court, London.
The traditional terraced house in Weatherfield – home to Ken and Deirdre Barlow for 50 years – and similar to over 5 million properties in the UK, has been built as an exact replica at this year's Ideal Home show, alongside a second property, that that has been completely modernised and upgraded and given the ultimate transformation by TV personality and architect George Clarke.
The two properties will together form a full scale before and after model, to demonstrate how easily homeowners can invest in home improvements which will not only add value to their property, but also make their home more energy efficient, helping save up to £250* per year on domestic energy bills.
George Clarke's remodelled home showcases a wide and creative range of simple and practical ideas that will not only transform the way their home looks but also demonstrate to consumers how to utilise their existing space more effectively.
The build structure and fascia of the house will be exactly the same as the original pre-war home, retaining the core of the home and the traditional bay window at the front that defines the typical terraced house.
The internal layout has been modified and brought up to date to reflect the demands of 21st Century living, opening up the living space with the addition of an ecological glass extension to the back of the house to create a larger open plan kitchen and dining room with much more efficient space, modifications which completely transform the way the house is used as well as making the most of natural daylight.
The modified house also features a simple loft conversion within the roof, which shows how you can add space and value in an affordable way. This is one of the most cost-effective ways to add space – especially if you turn it into an extra bedroom and bathroom.
The new-look home will showcases a range of affordable eco-friendly technologies such as home insulation, double glazing, solar thermal panels for hot water, PV panels for the generation of electricity, energy efficient boiler systems and rainwater harvesting.
In addition the house features a wide variety of ecological finishes, surfaces, and tiles, as well as sanitary ware and carbon-reduction appliances that will help reduce energy bills throughout, making the Ideal Home Refit a blueprint for a low-energy efficiency which is achievable in every standard British home.
George Clarke, the Architect behind the modernised home in the Ideal Home Refit commented: "There are over 25 million existing homes across the UK. Many are of a poor environmental standard and wouldn't come anywhere near close to complying with the current building regulations.
"Yet despite these figures, so many of our existing homes aren't even doing the simplest things to reduce this footprint. There are still millions of existing properties with little or no insulation, still with single glazed windows and with very inefficient heating system and boilers.
"If every UK existing home was given an Ideal Eco Refit the UK property market would be transformed. Our national carbon footprint would be dramatically reduced along with individual homes' annual energy bills.
"So as fewer people look to move and we are building fewer NEW homes than ever, we need to be focusing our attention on the reuse and upgrading of our current housing stock, and we don't need to wait for government to find a solution for this problem. As individuals we can all help by adopting a more responsible lifestyle by making simple changes in our homes."
"The Ideal Home Refit is a home that shows a broad range of very simple and affordable changes and ideas to helps visitors to see what they can do in their own homes to make them more functional and efficient."
Energy used in homes is responsible for more than a quarter (27%) of all UK emissions of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas causing climate change. Just installing the most effective measures such as loft insulation and modern heating controls the average UK household could save more than £250* a year on their fuel bills.
The Ideal Home Refit also forms a high profile part the inaugural Climate Week (21-27 March) by demonstrating what can be achieved in the home to tackle climate change.
Kevin Steele, CEO of Climate Week added: "By recreating Britain's best known street, Ideal Home's green re-fit will show millions that combating climate change really can begin at home."
Visitors will also be invited to make a pledge on the changes they plan to make in their own homes at the show, to encourage Britain to make changes in the own homes, to mark the UK's first Climate Week, (21-27 March).
Fans of Coronation Street and visitors to the show will also have the opportunity to see more of their favourite interior than ever before, with the upstairs of No 1 Coronation Street being replicated to the sets exact specifications, as seen in the brand new special Webisodes which launched earlier this week.
The ‘Ideal Home Refit' sponsored by B&Q, featuring No 1 Coronation Street sponsored Harveys, will be at this year's Ideal Home Show, Sponsored by Anglian Home Improvements, and open for visitors every day of the show, to see for 17 days from the 11th-27th March, at London's Earls Court.
The Ideal Home Show, London is going to be pone still until 27th March 2011, at London's Earls Court, so there is still time to go and see this and other eco solutions. Tickets can be either booked online or by calling the Ticket Hotline on 0844 415 4144, or for further information about the show visit the website www.idealhomeshow.co.uk. 50p per ticket sold goes to the Ideal Homes For Heroes appeal supporting ABF The Soldiers' Charity - see www.idealhomeshow.co.uk/ideal-homes-for-heroes/ for details.
Once again, this conversion by architect George Clarke shows what can be done to existing properties and should send a loud and clear message to government that first and foremost the country's existing housing stock must be “greened”. That already would bring down out CO2 emissions and other such problems down, and with the additional installation of rainwater harvesting systems, graywater flushing of toilets, etc., we can really make a difference. But it is the existing housing stock that must be tackled first before we even consider building eco-towns and -villages that just make profit for the building companies as the self-builder will not be getting a looking in.
© 2011
