Work has started on site on HLM’s PassivHaus homes at the Scottish Housing Expo in Inverness.

The fair, due to be held this summer, will feature 55 architect-designed houses in an attempt to demonstrate the designs of the future aimed at a variety of income brackets.

Based on the model of the Finnish Housing Fair, the 5ha expo will feature designs by architects including Nord, Graeme Massie, Richard Murphy and Malcolm Fraser.

HLM’s Glasgow office is contributing a miniature terrace of three family houses with the high energy efficiency standards of the German PassivHaus model, negating the need for conventional heating systems.

The overall energy consumption of the houses will be 80% less than a comparable structure in the existing housing stock.

Ross Barrett, project architect, said: “Scotland’s Housing Expo is about making sustainability all inclusive. It will show that minimal environmental impact can be achieved in the design and use of new homes no matter how much they cost to build or buy.

“All of the architects involved have positively addressed sustainability and, with innovation and creative thought, developed real, practical solutions that deliver energy efficiency in their use of materials and interior layouts, to create ultimate sustainable living spaces for the next generation. We are proud to be a part of it.”

The houses will be available to buy and rent after the fair has ended.