Right now, researchers at the University of Bath are busy devising the future of living spaces from age-old construction practices. The project, dubbed Straw BaleHaus, eyes straw and hemp to be the eco-friendly, renewable building material. The research team will ensure if these houses are amenable to some rigid building tests. Maybe to guarantee transparency, online readers could watch regular updates and live streaming from Monday July 20 onwards.
Expert troop with a green goal:
Assisted by a bunch of students, the professors are hopeful of invigorating the 18th and 19th century’s minimalist architecture. The project is also being extended a supportive gesture by White Design, Bristol, and Integral Structural Design at Bath. The Agrifibre Technologies, Lime Technology, Eurban, the Centre for Window & Cladding Technology and Willmott Dixon will chip in with useful contributions as well.
The able squad will utilize ModCell, a prefabricated panel having a wooden frame filled with hemp or straw bales, to create the BaleHaus. If they succeed, it will be good for the environment since the construction material is perfectly biodegradable and its carbon footprints are the minimum possible. Although the researchers hope the BaleHaus to offer a negative carbon footprint, it seems a bit fantastic considering the type of construction technologies in use nowadays.
Core agendas of research:
After the final fabrication this summer, the research team will assess the construction on these points:
1) Insulating Properties
2) Humidity Levels
3) Air Tightness
4) Sound Insulation
Why they are cashing in on straw?
Up to this point straw bales have not really been seen as a credible building material by much of the industry, even though straw has always been used in buildings for centuries and straw bales have been used for about 100 years.
Professor Peter Walker cites a couple of reasons for using straw as the building material. First, straw is the most eco-friendly building material and second, it’s renewable. Furthermore, straw houses don’t ask for heating and cooling solutions; they are naturally adaptive to outer temperatures.