Low carbon buildings and traditional materials

Abstract

The necessity, driven by Government legislation, to deliver more energy efficient buildings with significantly lower climate change impact is supporting the development of new uses for traditional materials, such as straw, hemp, timber and unfired clay. Many traditional, also called natural, materials offer low carbon and sustainable sources of materials for modern building. Plant based materials store carbon through photosynthesis. Unfired clay requires very little processing. However, traditional materials face many challenges in the reintroduction into modern construction, including: the high cost of labour (in the UK); shortage of skills in design and construction; limited performance data; and, limited supply chain. This paper briefly summarises some recent developments in the UK in the use of unfired clay masonry, hemplime composites and modern prefabricated straw bale building. The BRE Centre for Innovative Construction Materials at the University of Bath is leading research into a variety of low carbon building materials.