ECF completes 100 Passivhaus homes in Salford

Eric Wright Construction has completed Willohaus on behalf of the consortium made up of Muse, Legal & General, and Homes England.

The 100-home scheme was constructed off Peru Street in Salford and was designed by Buttress Architects. It features a mix of one- and two-bed apartments, of which 30 are for social rent and 70 are for affordable rent.

The Willohaus scheme forms part of the first phase of Adelphi Village, which constitutes part of the £2.5bn Crescent Salford masterplan being delivered by ECF and the council.

Like the 100-home Greenhaus on Chapel Street, which was delivered by the same project team, the homes within Willohaus have been constructed to Passivhaus standards – resulting in lower bills for residents – and will be owned and operated by Salix Homes.

Following the completion of Willohaus, work has begun on 42 new townhouses and 185 apartments at the former Farmer Norton car park, and plans have been approved for a further 263 homes as the 3,000-home Adelphi Village neighbourhood takes shape.

Simon Hourihan, project director at ECF, said: “As we celebrate 100 years since Salford achieved city status, it’s only fitting that, as a partnership, we deliver 100 new, highly sustainable, high‑quality homes.

“Willohaus is the first of many new residential buildings coming to Crescent Salford. Through features such as optimised air quality, these homes are designed to support physical and mental wellbeing and foster a healthier living environment.”

He added: “By combining high environmental performance with affordable rents, we are helping to make Crescent Salford a place where people from a wide variety of backgrounds can live, work, and thrive. This is a significant milestone for Crescent Salford and for our city as we strive to achieve our long‑term commitment to sustainable and inclusive growth.”

John Hartnett, Eric Wright Construction’s managing director, added: “We are proud to have handed over our second Passivhaus residential development, in the heart of Salford, for our long-standing client ECF.

“Delivering a Passivhaus project is more than just meeting the stringent standards, it’s about creating homes that perform better for the resident every day and our team has built on their already extensive Passivhaus knowledge to achieve outstanding results.

“This project demonstrates what can be achieved when sustainability, precision and collaboration are integrated from the early stages and continued throughout the construction processes.”

Alison Haigh, associate at architect Buttress, added: “Willohaus demonstrates how Passivhaus is no longer a niche ambition but a viable, scalable model for affordable housing.

“The challenge was not only technical – achieving the required levels of airtightness and thermal performance – but also cultural, requiring funders to prioritise long-term building performance alongside capital cost, while ensuring that design, detailing and construction were fully aligned from the outset.”