National spotlight on Fortis House

Our innovative modular Fortis House move-on accommodation scheme continues to make headlines, three months after tenants moved into their newly-completed homes on the Henwood estate in Ashford.  

Senior figures from the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) have visited Fortis House to find out more about how ABC has delivered 23 high-quality apartments on the former car park.

The CIH party was given a tour of the scheme and were able to speak to some of the residents about their experiences of living in Ashford’s first modular homes.

Heading up the Council’s welcoming party was Mark Bawden, Housing Strategy and Partnerships Manager, who said: “The CIH approached us to request a tour of Fortis House and we were delighted to help. They were hugely impressed with the innovation and design of the scheme – positioning the modular homes on steel stilts 2.4m above the ground in what is a flood zone. 

“They were fascinated to know more about the impressive green credentials – the homes are highly insulated and triple glazed, with heat recovery ventilation and featuring 230 solar panels on the roof. The fabric of the building is designed to create a zero-carbon home with ultra-low energy consumption and running costs.”

Following the visit, the CIH is planning to share a case study about Fortis House with its members via its ‘knowledge hub’ as an example of best practice in modular housing planning and delivery.

Meanwhile Fortis House has been shortlisted for an award. Our partner in the project – ZED PODS – submitted Fortis House to the RESI Awards run by Property Week and it has been selected as a finalist in the ‘Outstanding Residential Design Award up to 150 units’ category.

The winners of this prestigious annual awards will be announced on 7 May at Grosvenor House in London. Watch out for more details…