This new build welfare building has a unique structure that employs both low-carbon and recycled materials throughout, including foundations made of recycled car tyres.
The external walls are formed with loadbearing straw bales sourced from a local farm in Osterley, which in turn support an asymmetric timber pitched roof. The windows and doors are all made using 100% FSC-certified timber frames. Construction started with the timber roof, propped by temporary works, to keep the straw bales dry and viable while stored on site. Once the walls were constructed, the roof was then lowered onto them. The roof features a lightweight living roof on its shallower pitch and cedar shingles on its steeper pitch.
Being located beneath a busy flight path, the building had to meet rigorous acoustic criteria, achieved through high-performance acoustic glazing and the properties of the straw bale walls and dense natural fibre insulation in the roof. The building also meets stringent accessibility requirements. The combination of high thermal insulation, incorporation of MVHR and solar PV panels, in addition to the windows, make the building net zero in operation.
The project engaged trainees from The School of Natural Building during the construction programme, offering practical courses in straw bale building.
