Having charted the construction of the timber frame, I returned to this Exmoor straw house build in Autumn 2018 to follow the installation of the bales. A rare opportunity This is an assisted self build; Hawkland Ecological Construction are guiding the project. And it is rare, being on a greenRead More →
Dalston Works, completed in Summer 2017, is the world’s largest timber building. It was designed by sustainability specialists Waugh Thistleton Architects. I spoke with Dave Lomax, Senior Associate at the practice. Built for London Developer Regal Homes, Dalston Works is a ten-storey complex housing 121 flats, as well as overRead More →
In a beautiful valley high up in Exmoor, Hawkland Ecological Construction have started work on a new straw bale house. I went to see the beginnings of the structure. The timber platform rests on a foundation of used car tyres. These in turn rest on compacted hard core. TheRead More →
![Adnams Hempcrete Distribution Centre, Southwold. Credit: Sky Garden Ltd (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons](https://ebuilding.blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Sky_Garden_Adnams_Brewery_Green_Roof-840x385.jpg)
Not only have Adnams Brewers in Suffolk built their distribution centre from hempcrete, but their other sustainability work is impressively broad ranging. I interviewed employee Ben Orchard, winner of the 2018 EDIE Sustainability Manager of the Year award. This accolade is just one milestone in the history of a company thatRead More →
Hempcrete is a lightweight concrete, made of lime, water, and the shredded stems of hemp plants: hemp shiv. The material was developed in France over the last 40 years, by builders looking for a breathable material to use for repairing period buildings. Highly successful, it was also adopted for newRead More →
Bradfield Woods is one of Britain’s finest ancient woodlands, managed by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust. It is mainly coppiced, and there is a particularly high biodiversity. In 2011 the Trust built a new education and visitor centre. The aim was an eco-friendly structure, that would blend into its surroundings. Read More →
Sustainable settlements like Hockerton Housing Project are a model of a potential future. There are lifestyle changes and time commitments for the inhabitants, and I was keen to see how this worked in practice. There are several sustainable settlements around the UK and Republic of Ireland – for example, LammasRead More →
I stayed for a weekend at the Totnes Passivhaus B&B, in Devon. It is owned by Adam Dadeby (co-author of the Passivhaus Handbook) and his partner Erica Aslett. Visiting was an opportunity to experience the air quality and comfort levels of a Passivhaus. Totnes Passivhaus is a ‘retrofit’ of aRead More →
Using sustainable materials can massively reduce the environmental impact of your building or renovation project. But what about energy efficiency in the lifetime of the building? Cost and energy efficiency go hand in hand. Keeping an old and leaky building at a comfortable temperature is expensive. Adding solar panels or other ‘bolt-on’ renewableRead More →
For over 50 years, Potton has been constructing wood framed houses for self builders. This September, in a major step for energy efficient homes in the UK, they opened their first Passivhaus show home at their self build show centre in Cambridgeshire. General description Potton collaborated with sustainability specialists HTA Design and lowRead More →