107 Niddrie Road in Glasgow has been announced as a finalist in the 'Retrofit' category of this year's Exemplar Sustainable Buildings Awards.

The awards, which mark the Sustainable Development Foundation's 20th anniversary, combine elements from the Passivhaus Trust (PHT) and the Alliance for Sustainable Building Products (ASBP) awards to recognise the UK's most pioneering sustainable building projects.

The Glasgow southside project involved the deep retrofit of eight vacant two-bedroom apartments within a 150-year-old end terrace. The aim was to upgrade these properties to an EnerPHit standard of build, a Passivhaus accreditation specifically for existing buildings.

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As a pilot initiative, the project received part-funding from Glasgow City Council and The Scottish Funding Council. Its objective was to provide Glasgow and other local authorities with a model for addressing sustainability and fuel poverty within tenemental housing stock, a prevalent building type with over 70,000 units in the Glasgow City region alone.

To achieve EnerPHit, the comprehensive refurbishment included plot reconfiguration, enhanced insulation, new windows and door sets, and the integration of low-carbon technologies such as air source heat pumps and wastewater heat recovery.

While full EnerPHit accreditation was not ultimately achieved, residents are still benefiting from a significant improvement in energy performance, with an estimated reduction in energy use between 80% and 90% when compared to similar properties.

The flats have been subject to a two-year analysis led by The University of Glasgow, involving the installation of monitoring systems in various rooms to gather data on true build performance and understand tenant energy consumption trends.

CCG led the delivery of the project on behalf of Southside Housing Association, in partnership with John Gilbert Architects.