The Arbour, a development of ten ‘carbon-negative’ two-storey homes just off Orford Road in Walthamstow, won a RIBA National Award

The developer behind a ten-home development in Walthamstow Village has won a prestigious national architecture award.

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) awarded developer GS8’s scheme The Arbour with a National Award, calling it “exemplar”.

RIBA’s judges said: “With their exemplar ten-house, carbon-negative development on a former industrial site, Boehm Lynas and GS8 prove homes made from ‘waste’ and bio-based materials can be beautiful, and win.”

As RIBA notes, the project was sustainable from the get-go, with site operatives working on the construction required to sign up to a zero-waste charter that meant they had to use reusable drinks bottles, lunch boxes and bags. Meanwhile, early installation of solar panels meant that 60% of the site’s energy demands were satisfied.

Out of the 26 National Award winners, just four were housebuilders or housing associations, with GS8’s scheme the only newly built, open market sale residential scheme to win.

Other winners included multi-billion-pound regeneration projects, such as the King’s Cross Masterplan, the Elizabeth Line, the Battersea Power Station regeneration and Paddington Station, and leading institutions, such as the National Portrait Gallery and the Royal Academy of Dance.

The Arbour has also won a Regional RIBA London Award and the RIBA London Sustainability Award.

Founded by Josh Gordon and Ben Spencer, GS8 focuses on regenerative housing developments which are “planet positive”. This means, all non-contaminated waste on site is recycled and reused, and the carbon stored in the homes exceeds the embodied carbon needed to build and maintain them.

The renewable energy generated on-site exceeds the annual energy consumption of the homes themselves, guaranteeing zero energy bills, in partnership with Octopus Energy.

Josh Gordon, Co-Founder of GS8, commented: “The way we build new homes in this country has to change and we want to play a leading part in the sector’s progression towards, or beyond, net zero.

“The Arbour is the embodiment of what the future should look like – homes that deliver zero energy bills and are regenerative and community-led. This award provides affirmation that it is possible to build planet positive homes, which are viable, aesthetically and architecturally attractive.”

Read the full RIBA National Award list here

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