On Sunday, June 7th, Bell House will be open for the very first Festival of Retrofit in Dulwich, a free event (book your tickets) for anyone keen to explore and get practical advice.
Running from 11.30 to 3.30 the festival will include workshops for all ages, from how to build a brick wall to Cardboard City, there will be talks, stalls and cakes too.
With local Dulwich residents contributing their personal experiences of retrofit, this is a ‘community-first’ event.
Expect energy-saving draught-busting on a budget, up to secondary glazing for heritage properties, solar panels and Air Source Heat Pumps. Come to Bell House in Dulwich, the place to get to the bottom of warm homes, low bills and climate-friendly living.
The festival is part of the South East London Community Energy’s “Summer of DIY”. This Festival of Retrofit is a partnership between SELCE – the brains behind the initiative, Blue Patch (we’re based in Dulwich) and our gracious hosts Bell House, an educational charity. Funded by Southwark Council and the National Lottery.
Warm-up your home!
Learn about retrofit for free
Here are some of the activities:
- Open circle talks on retrofit and climate resilience
- Blue Patch’s Quick Fix draught-busting display
- The Blue Patch approved local supplier information desk
- Hands-on workshops for all ages – Card City and the Repair Cafe
- Learn to build a wall with the Weva Collective
- One-to-one sessions with local retrofit assessors
- Stalls showcasing materials and technologies for your home
- Solar, Air Source Heat Pumps and batteries – myth-busted!
- Food, green networking, and a tour of the Bell House grounds – a Ground Source Heat Pump is helping to power this Georgian house!
Expert energy advisors and retrofit assessors will be on hand to answer questions about retrofitting your home. You will also be able to explore the materials and innovations that are available, and learn how to galvanise your community to affect change. Fun craft workshops will teach repair skills too.
In feedback from the SELCE’s retrofit festival in 2024, visitors said how good it was to connect with others and the ‘atmosphere of possibility’, while others mentioned learning about investing in solar power, hearing ‘other people’s journeys – their trials and successes’ so that they were better placed to deal with contractors when planning retrofit projects.
Draught-busting Chimney Sheep
Blue Patch will present their draught-busting ‘Quick Fix’, a room display of practical and low-cost solutions supplied by long-term members, Chimney Sheep, showing how to block out the chill factor. Blue Patch’s Quick Fix puts a dent in bills and creates instant snugness – or, in a heatwave, helps keep external heat at bay.
Locally recommended
In addition to draught-busting, Blue Patch team are ready to advise on locally recommended architects, contractors and installers – companies that our friends and neighbours have used. Our information desk at the festival can’t be missed, we’ll be greeting you and signposting to all the great activities.
Mitchell and Dickinson
If you want to do something about your chilly windows, and have a heritage property with original windows, or want to avoid fitting brand new windows, here’s Mitchell and Dickinson’s integrated CosyGlazing secondary glazing solution. This system, when used on sash windows, allows you to slide the sashes open as usual while the CosyGlazing remains in place. As part of the fitting service, Mitchell and Dickinson’s craftsmen reengineer the window, remove excess paint, release stiff sashes, replace chords and pulleys, balance weights and fit new beading with a concealed brush strip. They also install concealed draught proofing brushes to the meeting rail and make clever modifications to accommodate the CosyGlazing units.
Benefits in a nutshell:
- Removable and invisible from the outside and so conforms to conservation requirements for Grade 1 and Grade 2 listed building
- Perfect for sash windows in period homes and listed properties
- Reduces heat loss from single glazed windows by 70%
- Fits to every type of window and you can open your windows as usual – brilliant!
Because every period home is unique, each project begins with an expert survey to create a tailored package of discreet secondary glazing, loft, underfloor and sloping ceiling insulation, shutters, draught proofing, window and door restoration, and smart ventilation solutions including humidity-responsive fans and MVHR systems.
Elite Renewables
Elite Renewables are experts at renewable energy installations including ground source and air source heat pumps, solar panels and battery storage, air conditioning, underfloor heating and Mechanical Ventilation and Heat Recovery (MVHR) for homes and businesses. Speak to them in person at the festival. They installed the ‘holy trinity’ next to Blue Patch HQ – batteries, solar and ASHP, so we’re getting our neighbour’s energy saving intel ‘hot off the press’.
Burgess Architects
Burgess Architects will be giving a tour of the Bell House to explain how the building was retrofitted and solar installed. Burgess Architects are also locally recommended, you can see their work on Dovercourt Road as well as Bell House itself – the pottery is wonderful.
enbee architects
Take a look at enbee architects who are also well known and are recommended locally. Architect Natalie Black retrofitted her own home overlooking Ruskin Park. The next edition of the Dulwich Society magazine will feature Natalie’s Cosy House SE22 project in East Dulwich.
Enjoy this informative video of a full ‘enbee’ retrofit in North London and an added extra – Natalie on The Maison Gent podcast .
Shuttleworth Projects
Shuttleworth Projects, a boutique local design firm, work on both commercial and residential projects, with a focus on interior redesign and refurbishment. Shuttleworth offer a sustainable approach by reusing materials creatively where possible. Jason Shuttleworth is the director.
Flood Preparedness
If you are in the flood plain (sadly the case for many of us) or have poor surface water drainage Blue Patch patrons Watertight International can advise. Watertight provided locals with a highly informative workshop on flood resilience, held in Herne Hill which changed from road to river in 2004 and 2013, causing millions in damage and lost business. Have a look at this blog on how to protect your property in increasingly tempestuous weather – be prepared!
Speak to Elite Renewables, Natalie Black from enbee architects, Ed from Burgess Architects and Jason from Shuttleworth Projects at the festival during the festival. We can also connect you with Mitchell and Dickinson, Watertight International and Chimney Sheep.
Your Retrofit + Refurbish questions
The Blue Patch team will be at the event to help direct you and suggest recommended local contractors. If you run a small business and need support with your sustainability journey, we can help you with this too – come and have a chat.
Ever wanted to build a brick wall?
Now’s your chance!
Come and meet Weva, a collective of architects, artists and makers, are creating opportunities for women, gender-diverse people and marginalised communities to confidently engage with construction, green skills and the building trades. Through design projects, skill-sharing, learning through making and collective agency, they work to dismantle barriers and create more inclusive pathways into the built environment.
“Aligned by a shared commitment to making construction, heritage skills and sustainable building practices more accessible, we are delighted to be contributing to the Bell House Festival of Retrofit. Through hands-on workshops and collective learning, we’re excited to share traditional brick wall repair techniques, celebrate the value of caring for existing buildings, and create opportunities for people of all backgrounds to gain confidence in practical building skills while connecting with their local community.”
South East London Community Energy is a co-op that helps residential homes, schools and communities with solar energy projects. Their aim is to power a cleaner, fairer future where energy is owned and governed by the people who use it. They also want to eradicate fuel poverty. SELCE provides home energy advice in 1:1 sessions, through the ‘heat doctor’ Simon who advises residents on heating, and free workshops and events like the Festival of Retrofit.
Bell House is an educational centre and a volunteer-led charity in South London championing creative education and lifelong learning for all. They run regular workshops and classes for people of all ages, including touch typing, documentary film making, beekeeping and the Bell House hives, creative arts and more. Bell House
Tickets on Eventbrite
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/bell-house-festival-of-retrofit-tickets-1987958520449
If you want to know more about retrofitting your home to make it more efficient and less costly to heat, install solar panels or heat pumps, or are curious to find out more, we’d love to see you there.
- Are you a local business with a sound track record with customers?
Members are committed to:
- the UK’s clean energy transition
- actively working to reduce their business environmental footprint
- accessing our support to reduce environmental impact
Contact team@bluepatch.org