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Company Overview
Norrie Smith, is a visionary entrepreneur who spearheads NRGStyle, an affordable sustainable building development company, with the core value of 'Achievable Urban Sustainability'1. Having an interest in the Environment and having had experience of working in the community, heading a ‘Neighbour Hood Watch’ campaign, he formed ‘The Hayocks Regeneration Project’ in Stevenston in 2006 and began researching ‘Homezones’2 & Renewable Energy technologies that could be used in ordinary urban homes. He decided to embark on this larger project: to design a feasibility study to create ‘Achievable Urban Sustainability’.
This will be a feasibility study/test bed for sustainable building techniques and renewable technologies and the resulting data will be used to replicate/re-design on other similar existing plots and to retrofit existing houses.
Norrie took the ideas and the concept for the feasibility study to design new build and retrofit existing housing stock to Dr Masa Noguchi, Glasgow School of Art. NRGStyle now work in collaboration with Dr Masa Noguchi, who has developed the ZEMCH Network 3.
The new house, to be named ZEMCH 109, will be the first affordable ZEMCH Home to be built in the UK. (Subject to planning, 2011).
NRGStyle’s main goal is to create an inspiring example of Achievable Urban Sustainability that can be easily replicated on similar plots nationwide, providing an affordable design solution for the ever growing number of people in fuel poverty.
Customisation & Pre-Adapted Layout for NRGStyle Lifetime Homes
As NRGStyle Lifetime homes are designed & built already ‘pre-adapted’ to changing lifestyles and uses, it is easy to tailor a design to the clients’ individual and potentially changing needs; a personal service not offered by the larger house-builders and developers.
Multi-Generational Integrated Living
Another key aim is to provide an alternative to Nursing Homes for families looking after the elderly generation; by providing a pre-adapted, flexible ground floor layout that can be easily altered to give independence within the existing family home.
Products & Services
We are community driven. NRGStyle will provide an ‘end to end’ service once a plot has been identified as suitable for new build and/or retrofit.
Planning-Design-Finance-Construction
We design a 3D CAD layout so that the client can see exactly how their house will look. We can also provide a real life digital animation of how their NRGStyle home will harmonise into their street and surrounding area.4 1.Definition of Achievable Urban Sustainability
‘Achievable Urban Sustainability’, to create a new way of living design:
This is a philosophy/ethos that NRGStyle has developed as their core value & vision.
We want to combine design and construction techniques with renewable technologies to deliver cost-effective, sustainable lifetime homes in urban areas that are within the ordinary, everyday working person’s financial reach.
Achievable: It is affordable and possible
Urban: Relevant to and in harmony with an urban environment Sustainability: In 1987, the United Nations released the Brundtland Report, which defines sustainable development as “development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
2. Homezones website www.homezones.org
3. ZEMCH Network www.zemch.org & www.zemch2012.org
4. www.nrgstyle.com/video.html
