Research

Building the future

Published 6 May 2011

The University of Brighton and local housing service provider the Mears Group joined forces as work began on what will become one of the country's most eco-friendly and sustainable houses.

The House that Kevin Built, in the grounds of the Faculty of Arts campus in Grand Parade, Brighton, will be made largely from organic material including straw, wood, and waste products.

It is based on a home which designer and TV presenter Kevin McCloud and Lewes architect Duncan Baker-Brown, a University of Brighton graduate and now senior lecturer, constructed in six days for the Grand Designs Live programme in 2008.

The project aims to show how low-carbon homes can be built cheaply and quickly. Individuals and companies including the Mears Group are donating skills, labour, materials and money for the project.

The Mears Group have pledged to cover the costs of all works below ground such as drainage, foundations and connections to existing mains electricity and sewers. They have also pledged to provide the site agent and their apprentices.

Paul Kellaway, Mears's project manager, said: "We think this is a fantastic opportunity for our apprentices to get involved in such a worthwhile building project."

Mears's managing director, Gary Lester, said: "Mears is supporting this project to show its commitment to a greener Brighton and to provide opportunities for young people to learn about sustainable buildings and techniques for the future."

Dr Catherine Harper, head of the University of Brighton's School of Architecture and Design, said: "A lot of people are being incredibly generous and it shows they believe in a project and the vision. To get involved at this early stage, as the Mears Group has, is fantastic."

Architect Duncan Baker-Brown holding a model of the house

The house, located just behind the university's Grand Parade building, will have a number of ground-breaking eco-features.

Mr Baker-Brown is keen that a wide cross section of the community gets involved in the build, to learn more about green house-building.

Materials will include scrap from the nearby building site for Amex's new HQ. Walls will be made from panels filled with starw to keep the house warm in winter and cool in summer. Heavy walls downstairs will act as a heat store, while lightweight materials upstairs provide insulation.

Innovative techniques will involve partly pre-fabricating the house off-site, using waste such as paper, straw, tins, glass and earth.

The house will be regularly evaluated and new research will provide improved techniques and materials for the house over its predicted five to ten-year lifespan.

The original house was thought to be the first building in the UK to achieve an A+ energy performance certificate. The sun will heat hot water by shining onto pipes behind glass roof tiles. Other solar tiles will generate 2.5kw of electricity.

Building will take around three months. The premises will be used as an experimental venue for university research, student workshops, seminars and for exhibitions and events open to the wider public.

The project has a fund-raising drive to collect the £300,000 required for completion. As a residential property such a house would cost around £170,000 to build. The additional money is needed to cover VAT at a whopping 20 per cent. Houses are zero rated – but this project is classified as a research building. Other funds are also needed for landscaping, boundary improvements and extra design work.

Other backers on board include Brighton & Hove City Council, the Building Research Establishment, and Deeks & Steere who built the original house.

Kevin McCloud said: "I'm very pleased that the University of Brighton is committed to exploring new low-carbon methods of building. It's exciting to think that the campus could have its own practical demonstration building and I'm delighted to be connected to the university through this innovative piece of construction."

Duncan Baker-Brown said: "I thought it would be great to have it here to play around with and take measurements from. It would be perfect for Brighton, we've got a heritage of this kind of thing. There are so many networks here to buy into this stuff here.

"We're talking to large local builders who are kindly offering to donate what used to be called waste but is now called 'resource'. And we really want to hear from individuals or organisations who can help financially.

"We will be rebuilding the project with the help of university students, Mears's apprentices, local school kids and anybody who wants to be involved. That is why the build will take longer this time - to allow for collaboration with local communities.

"Architecture students have already been involved with projects, influencing the development from the original design. Once complete, the House will continually evolve, allowing students and others to design elements of the interior, such as the staircase, kitchen and so on."

Professor Stuart Laing, the University of Brighton's Deputy Vice-Chancellor, said: "The house will be a working exhibit for people to view but it will also be a place for children, youth clubs and adults to meet, talk and learn about environmental issues, healthy living, reducing the use of carbon, and tackling climate change.

"It will be for university and community use as an experimental venue for research, student workshops, conferences, exhibitions and events that would draw the city and the university together around a shared concern for a more sustainable city.

"This is an exciting project that we hope will become an example for sustainable construction around the UK and one that will produce far-reaching benefits for the university and the community as a whole."

You can find out more at: www.arts.brighton.ac.uk/thtkb.