Projects and Photos
New build, Cardiff centre – Architect Paola Sassi. A block of two flats designed and built to be zero carbon, Passivhaus standards requiring no heating in addition to passive solar. Construction is ‘closed loop’, so allowing dismantling and re-use / recycling / composting at the end of life. The timber frame structure is highly insulated and airtight with 300mm hemp and 80mm timber fibre insulation. Insulated timber windows have a U-value of 0.7W/sqmK. Finishes include timber cladding and lime render on the walls, and zinc on the roof. Solar thermal and photovoltaic panels provide most of the hot water and electricity. Mechanical ventilation with heat recovery recycles 92% of the heat. Composting facilities, rainwater recycling and bike store help reduce the occupants’ ecological footprint.
Strawbale roundhouse, Bute Cottage Nursery School, Penarth. A classroom of 5m diameter in the school grounds. The self draining foundations re-use car tyres as a plinth, on which the timber sole plate and floor are fixed. Walls are of load-bearing strawbales fixed with hazel stakes. The roof is of radial rafter design, with shingles made from reclaimed conveyer belt rubber. The sole plate is insulated with reclaimed polystyrene packaging, the wall plate with straw, and the floor and roof with reclaimed hemp. Much of the timber is reclaimed, and any bought timber is FSC. Windows and door are reclaimed. Much of the labour was undertaken by volunteers, led by us, resulting in a true sense of community. Even the children (aged 3-5 years) got involved with insulating the sole plate and finishing the straw walls.
Earth oven and cob seating area, Amelia Trust Farm, Barry. The farm is used daily by disaffected youth and people with learning disabilities. An outdoor shelter is being built for use by youths and visitors, where the ancient skills of cooking in an earth oven can be taught. The foundation for the bench and oven are made from reclaimed local stone and lime mortar. The oven will be built on a weekend course taught by Peter Lees, and the cob bench will be built by the young people associated with Amelia Trust, under Peter’s guidance. The bench will be lime plastered on a weekend course taught by Stuart Ogier. We have built the shelter using Western Red Cedar felled on site, and will use cedar shingles to complete the roof.
GreenPeace Gardens, Glastonbury 2008. Designed and managed by Jenny and Mehdi (http://www.jennyandmehdi.org/), the GreenPeace gardens brought together many different people to build a showcase for low impact, sustainable building and living. We built the walkway through the centre of the gardens. Reclaimed timber was used throughout, and all materials were dismantled at the end of the festival for re-use.
