Scaffolding finally down at Hickling straw-bale house

Scaffolding finally came down 11th December revealing the duvet-like lime rendered straw bale walls, stainless steel cills span the depth of the bales and render, and straight lines of stainless steel cills contrast with wavy wall. Lots of pics below:

Strawbale building, hickling, norfolk, passiv house

A special thank you to all the people who have come to help over the last few weeks, great progress!

1 roof rafters in place

2 dormer cheeks craned in

3 foamglass upstand

4 straw arrives - summer wheat

5  so far

6  fire boarding, taped

 

7 dressing bales

8 'the pursuader' a very useful piece of equipment

9 Paul Jennings explains!

10 moisture monitors in place

11 monitor with fixed probes

12 compression with car jacks

13 Twisting the hazel stakes in to pin the straw bales together

14 thatcher's fixings and reed thatch

15 thatcher setting out verge

The Eco-Hub on the cover of Green Building Magazine

In-depth article - 5 pages! - with illustrations and explanations by Junko and Fran.
Thanks, AECB and Green Building!

Two years later: Review of Lewisham self-build scheme

Project review visit at Beechmont Close, two years after completion - the project designed with and for 12 young people from the housing list, who trained in building skills at college and worked on site with the contractor for the whole construction period. The place is in beautiful condition, confirming all our hopes about the young people's feelings of ownership for the place, and the guys who do the regular maintenance have been giving it 'gold' - see picture. Of the young people, one has gone on to qualify and work as a bricklayer, and nearly all are in work although one sadly lost his flat as a result of being involved in the riots last year, which I was very sorry to hear. 

The contractor - Enterprise - site foreman is still in touch with the young people on a regular basis, and the experience has been a boost to his career development too. Overall a real inspiration!

Fran

Eco-hub shortlisted for sustainability award

The Eco-hub at Lordship Park has been been shortlisted in the category of 'Sustainable Project of the Year' by the Builder and Engineer Awards 2012! Good choice!

West Hendon in Architecture Today

Read the on line article here.

site visit

Last week I have been busy taking part in the AECB Certified Passivhaus Designer Course - and inevitably kept thinking about our Passivhaus Environment Centre. During last week the site made remarkable progress as ever - amongst other things, the cellulose fibre insulation has been injected into the roof and floor voids. Straw Works and the volunteers, who have been looking after every layer and corner of the render and plaster, were giving a final touch before they leave the site for two weeks at the end of today. Next week, the floor will be cleared to receive the air-tightness membrane. 

As many migrant birds fly over, I wonder whether they will recognise a new land mark in the reborn Lordship Recreation Ground!
Junko

straw bale

Thursday 22nd March was the third day of straw-bale building at the Environment Centre at Lordship Recreational Grounds - a lot of people working on site! It's fantastic to have the roof done first, now one is able to see the actual scale and outline of the building. There will be a lot of volunteers on the site from Monday 26th March onwards and a few of us at ATA will aim to be there to enjoy seeing this building emerge. Come and see us!

For more details call AT Architects on 020 7749 6931

ATA completes first houses at West Hendon

Family houses designed by Anne Thorne Architects LLP for client Barratt Metropolitan LLP are the first to be completed on the large West Hendon regeneration scheme, which is a partnership project between Metropolitan Housing Partnership, Barratt Homes and the London Borough of Barnet.

The eight houses on the pilot scheme - a terrace on Sorrel Mead and a semi- detached pair on Cool Oak Lane, are off the West Hendon Broadway and a 10-minute walk from theWelsh Harp reservoir, a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Popular memory recalls sailing and boating on the reservoir and the triangular geometry of gables and bay windows on the houses are a visual play on that history. The houses are a mixture of two and three storey for 5-7 persons.

progress on site despite snow and frost

Timber framed cassettes that will form the ground floor arrived on site today. These will be fully filled with insulation manufactured from recycled newspaper.

The pond in front of the Environment Centre in the Lordship Recreational Ground is currently frozen... The cafe in this building will be a fantastic place to stay warm and look out during the snowy season next year!

See more about the Environment Centre at Lordship Recreational Grounds by ATA here. 

junko reports on the environment centre

The construction work at the Environment Centre at Lordship Recreational Ground in Haringey finally got rolling after a few months break. The timber floor beams have landed on site: fifty-four piles are supporting the main structure. The floor joists will arrive this week. ATA and the design team have been busy working on the final check. The straw bale building is designed to Passivhaus standard.