Costly winter fuel bills are a compelling reason to buy an energyefficient new home. Townhouses at Cobalt Place, Battersea, are among the most highly rated in London, due to an advanced form of timber construction that reduces the amount of energy needed to heat the building by 40 per cent, while also improving air quality and cutting noise pollution.
Battersea Set over three levels, the homes each have a white, open-plan interior on the ground floor, linked to a walled private garden. Admirably, the architecture proves that wooden homes do not have to look like the inside of a sauna.
The houses form part of a scheme of 104 homes, mainly flats, that slots unobtrusively into the neighbourhood, which is on the cusp of Battersea Village conservation area.
Lend Lease, the developer, has launched "normal-looking" tripleglazed houses with an outer layer of warm brick. Exposed timber ceilings are the only hint of the inner leaf. Prices from £1.15 million. Call 020 8879 9099.
