 Rainforest plunder: when questioned in May this year Environment Minister Michael Meacher confirmed that the governments commitment to only using legal and sustainably sourced timber also applies to “wood used temporarily during construction works as well as wood fixed as part of a finished structure” ...
Minster barn: is the sixth house by eco-architect paul Connel. It attempts to develop the use of a particular set of criteria. Each house is a development from the previous and all have strong similarities whilst also being one-offs and site specific. ...
Earthships: houses from junk A feature on Earthships, buildings made from old car tyres. At least two already built in UK …
The site on which a building sits: and its relation to the surrounding landscape is so significant, that to ignore the cues is to lose a series of valuable economic, ecological, and aesthetic connections. The housing estates and business parks that spring up around our towns might well have just fallen out of the sky, so little thought has been given to their placement, and yet planners have years to look ahead and give real thought to site development ...
Cob, oak, larch & slate: as expected, the design of the new building had to respect the existing building. I believe there are two ways of achieving this – one can either go for a ruthlessly modern approach or be radical ...
Clay straw building: ... it was a series of fortunate coincidences that led to the first clay straw building in modern times to be erected in the Forest of Dean, in Gloucestershire. Clay straw or light clay is fairly common in Germany but an unusual form of construction in the UK. Straw bale building is now becoming a well-established alternative to traditional forms of construction ...
Ceramic stoves: Nick Hills first came upon these stoves about fifteen years ago, in a previous incarnation that required him to spend his winters in central Norway. Although attracted, initially, by their aesthetics, it seemed to him that there was an untapped market here in the UK …
The environmental benefits of green roofs -Part 2:
Part 1 of this report was published in BFF Vol.12, No.3. The report investigates how the wider implementation of green roofs can be used to address problems of the urban environment and make it a more pleasant and amenable place to live and visit …
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