Why Choose NorDan for Affordable Housing Projects?
Affordable housing projects have a unique set of challenges – including community opposition to utilitarian or cheaply designed homes, stringent energy efficiency expectations, and affordability.
With a large demand for affordable or social housing, finding a way to build them that is low-cost, yet low maintenance is important. While most windows in today’s market look good at first sight, many don’t stand up to the test of time, with both appearance and performance degrading after years of wear and use.
Several factors make NorDan windows and doors the top choice for affordable housing developments.
Sleek Minimalist Design
Affordable housing has a bad reputation for being large, boxy and generally lacking good aesthetics. An article by Harvard suggests that 25 to 30% of all hard costs are spent on a building’s façade, doors and windows – making it a popular place to try and cut costs. However, this may not be a benefit as it elicits opposition from those living nearby who might not want an eye-sore development near them.
As such, more attention is being paid to making affordable housing structures look more beautiful on the outside of the house as well as functional and cost-effective. NorDan’s windows and doors are Norwegian designed and heavily embrace the Scandinavian sleek and minimalist style. Their understated look and wide range of colours available will fit in with any building design.
Virtually Maintenance Free & 60 Year Life Expectancy
Affordability and low quality do not need to be synonymous. NorDan’s products are Aluminium clad, pre-treated and powder coated in one of Europe’s most modern facilities, resulting in a product made to withstand the harshest marine conditions.
Our aluminium clad products also result in a virtually maintenance-free product, whilst timber provides a warm and organic aesthetic on the inside. You can essentially ‘fit it and forget it’ with minimal upkeep, reducing the ongoing maintenance costs of the building.
Our timber is slow grown in cold climate forests and then pressure vacuum impregnated during manufacturing, which provides a product that is designed to have a life expectancy of at least 60 years. With little needed to keep the windows and doors in good shape, using NorDan ensures that the housing remains affordable beyond the initial building costs.
Energy Efficient
Many affordable or social housing developments are now required to have an energy-efficient design. While energy-efficient windows, doors and other systems are estimated by some developers to cost 3 to 5% more upfront, they create reduced operating costs in the long term, offsetting that initial expense.
We design our products in Norway to withstand the roughest weather conditions. This means as standard, our products achieve U-values of 1.2 on double glazed units. U-values as low as 0.7 can be achieved through triple glazed units, making it a valuable contribution towards creating passive homes as well.
Best Safety Protection
Windows and doors from NorDan also offer some of the best safety protection on the market. Our testing and ‘Secured by Design’ accreditation ensure our windows will not only keep you warm but importantly resist break-in attempts and keep residents safe.
Child safety restrictors are available on nearly all windows as well, ensuring not only safety from an external perspective but also from an internal one.
NorDan has worked on numerous affordable housing projects in the past of many shapes and sizes all over the UK and beyond. Find out more about how NorDan can assist with your affordable housing project here.