Hemp And Lime House Achieves CSH Level 5

Source: greenbuildingpress.co.uk

A recently developed green walling material, has helped to create a newbuild sustainable home in Hillingdon, London – as part of a pioneering council-run scheme to create high quality, affordable housing on disused garage sites.

Designed by Paper Project architecture and design and built by Hill Partnerships (Western), the project forms part of a regeneration programme launched by the London Borough of Hillingdon in 2008 to convert underused spaces into affordable and sustainable housing. The four bedroom house is one of 47 homes that have already been redeveloped as part of this innovative scheme. A key element in the construction was the use of hemcrete for the creation of highly insulated walls for the timber frame home – helping the building to achieve Level 5 of the Code for Sustainable Homes. Developed by Lime Technology, Tradical® Hemcrete® is produced from UK grown hemp and a lime binder, absorbing CO2 in the hemp growing. It is ideal for the construction of thermally efficient and cost effective homes. Offering 130kg CO2/m² less than conventional brick and block in a normal wall section along with excellent thermal inertia, the building’s internal temperatures will be very stable, which helps to reduce the need for heating, and so offers a highly sustainable construction method. Built on traditional concrete foundations, the two-storey main timber frame structure was first lined with a breathable sheathing board before a shutter system was erected onto the outside frame. This allowed the 350mm thick hemp and lime combination to be poured in and create both insulation and external wall lining with a single application – helping the building to achieve thermal U-values of 0.16W/m2K for all walls in the building. The new property incorporates a number of additional sustainable and environmentally-friendly materials and systems, including extensive triple glazed wrap around the ground level façade, external timber cladding, a number of low-profile solar photovoltaic panels and two solar hot water units. Built to Level 5 of the Code for Sustainable Homes and already occupied by a large family, the new home has shown that building homes with hemp and lime not only delivers exceptional environmental credentials, it also contributes to the creation of attractive, affordable homes for the 21st century.