Ecospheric

30/09/2026

Third win in a week! 🏆

The Countess Of Chester Hospital Women & Children’s building has just been named Most Sustainable Building Project at the Building Innovation Awards 2026. This trailblazing Net Zero Carbon Building Standard hospital has already picked up two major awards in the past week: Project of the Year at the Government Property Awards and the LABC Building Excellence Award for the North West.

A fantastic result for an exceptional project team, and a particularly proud moment for us at Ecospheric, having acted as the Net Zero Carbon Coordinators on the project and helped steer its delivery against the new NHS Net Zero Building Standard.

This project has asked a lot of the whole team, from challenging established approaches to testing new pathways for operational energy, embodied carbon and whole-life performance. Tonight is a brilliant recognition of that collective effort.

Huge congratulations to everyone involved. What a result! 👏

Client: Countess Of Chester Hospital
Principal Supply Chain Partner: IHP (a joint venture between VINCI Construction and Sir Robert McAlpine)
Net Zero Carbon Coordinator: Ecospheric
Design Team: AHR, Waterman Group, Alan Johnston Partnership
Key Supply Chain: Dalkia UK, Cohesion Piling Company Ltd, Mayo Civil Engineering Limited
Standards assessment: NHS England

30/09/2026

Fantastic win for a deserving project! We're so pleased to have supported as Net Zero Carbon Coordinators for this project - facilitating this new build women and children's unit in becoming the first completed NHS Net Zero Building Standard hospital in England!

31/08/2026

Fantastic air tightness test result for this project where we’ve been supporting Progress in Practice in the role of consultants. The project is a grade II listed lodge house located in Park. It was built in the 1840’s so it’s a remarkable achievement to see it’s achieved one of the major milestones for EnerPHit certification.

🏛️ Central Lodge hits its Passivhaus EnerPHit airtightness target!

This Grade II Listed Lodge in Birkenhead Park is being retrofitted and extended to Passivhaus EnerPHit standard and is on track for completion this autumn 🏗️

The existing building has been upgraded with wood fibre insulation, recycled newspaper insulation and lime plaster, chosen for being breathable and low carbon. Aerogel has helped tackle tricky thermal bridges along the way.

Why does airtightness matter so much on a listed building?

Old buildings are full of awkward junctions and details never built with airtightness in mind — so getting it right takes real skill. The payoff:

🌬️ No more cold draughts. Instead a stable, comfortable temperature all year
💷 Less heat lost = lower running costs
🫁 Fresh air. Airtightness works hand-in-hand with a certified MVHR system, so fresh air is constantly and efficiently exchanged without losing all that hard-won heat.
🧱 Less risk of damp and decay, vital for preserving a historic building long-term

EnerPHit sets the retrofit target at below 1.0 air changes per hour @ 50Pa. On Central Lodge, the team achieved an impressive 0.96 ACH@50pa, a fantastic result for a building of this age and complexity, and testament to the skill and care taken on site.

Watch this space for more updates 👀



Passivhaus Trust Aeroseal UK Ecospheric Zero Energy

10/07/2026

The Wild House is officially open!

Yesterday we joined the Wilder Doddington team at Doddington Hall and Gardens to celebrate the opening of a project that has been several years in the making — and one Ecospheric is incredibly proud to have helped deliver.

Wild House brings together radical reductions in building energy demand and the restoration of wildlife habitats.

Ecospheric’s involvement has spanned the project from early design through detailed and building-services engineering, construction support and certification.

The result is an exceptionally low-energy building — the first non-domestic build in England to achieve Passivhaus Premium — generating far more renewable energy than it needs to operate.

But the building is only part of the story. Wild House is a base for school visits, university research, conservation skills, volunteering, nature experiences and wellbeing programmes — connecting more people with the extraordinary landscape being restored around it.

A huge congratulations to our clients at Doddington Hall and Gardens, the Wilder Doddington team and everyone involved in bringing the project to life - including architects Steven Dunn Architects Ltd, building contractor Daniel Charles Construction Ltd, off-site build system manufacturer PYC Group and Warmcel Insulation, and Passivhaus certifier Greengauge Building Energy Consultants.

Passivhaus Trust
The International Passive House Association

10/07/2026

A small snapshot below of the massive amount of work that went into creating the Countess Of Chester Hospital Women & Children's building - the first to be approved under the NHS Net Zero Building Standard - and the incredible importance of the work the team inside the building are doing... bringing new lives into the world everyday.

Fantastic that this has all been recognised with 2 wins at the North West Regional Construction Awards!

03/07/2026

Some exciting news to share from last night's North West Regional Construction Awards in . The Countess Of Chester Hospital Women & Children's Building won the award and the Regional Project of the Year for , and .

We’re incredibly proud to be part of the team that delivered the country’s first approved NHS Net Zero Carbon Building Standard hospital, delivering a fully electric building featuring renewable energy generation, and achieving BREEAM Excellent.

It was wonderful to celebrate alongside fellow project team members from VINCI Construction, Sir Robert McAlpine, AHR, Alan Johnston Partnership, Dalkia UK, and Countess Of Chester Hospital.

As a team, we've learned so much from this project and look forward to supporting future healthcare facilities seeking to meet the NHS Net Zero Carbon Building Standard.

01/06/2026

Hampstead Passive House is in the running for the MARCH Materials People's Choice Awards 2026. This fantastic project features completely natural and recycled insulation, reclaimed furniture, flooring, and cabinetry, and even painted with clay found on-site.

On top of that, it's a certified of a Victorian-era townhouse featuring lovely period architectural details, whilst delivering the highest energy efficiency.

Every detail has been considered for maximum and carbon reduction.

Please click here to vote https://www.app.marchmaterials.com/project/cmolmi6mf01lq09mobihhwuoh

Architectural design: Guy Stansfeld Architecture llp
Interiors: Axel Vervoordt Company
Passivhaus and building services: Ecospheric
Building contractor: OLF Construction
Structural engineers: MICHAEL BAIGENT ORLA KELLY LIMITED
Passivhaus certifier: Zero Energy + Passivhaus

20/05/2026

Great to see Hampstead Passive House featured in Dezeen recently. This fabulous Victorian home has been retrofitted to standard... prioritising natural materials from insulation to decor.

Click the link below the read the Dezeen article or head to our website to find out how this project meets the ambitious RIBA 2030 Challenge embodied carbon targets https://www.ecospheric.co.uk/projects/enerphit-1880's-conservation-area-townhouse

08/05/2026

We’re excited to share what could become the first certified Premium project in Great Britain.

Construction is now complete on the Wild House at Wilder Doddington in - a nature-based education centre focused on wildlife, ecology, wellbeing, and sustainability.

It has been a wonderful journey supporting Doddington Hall and Gardens with early concept development through to Passivhaus design, building services engineering, construction support, and certification.

The project features:

• A fully solar roof generating more renewable energy than the building consumes annually
• Closed-panel timber construction using British-grown timber
• Insulation manufactured from recycled newsprint

Projects like this show how a strong commitment to sustainable design, biodiversity, and education can come together to create something truly special.

A huge congratulations to the entire project team, we cannot wait to visit again now that the building is complete.

Client: Doddington Hall and Gardens
Architecture: Steven Dunn Architects Ltd.
Passivhaus & Building Services: Ecospheric
Main Contractor: Daniel Charles Construction Ltd
Build System: PYC Group