Straw houses receive royal guest

Article Type: Newsbriefs From: Structural Survey, Volume 28, Issue 5

Keywords: Straw bales, Houses, Sustainability

The UK’s first council houses build of straw were visited by His Royal Highness, the Duke of Gloucester, on Thursday, 17 June 2010. North Kesteven District Council invited His Royal Highness to view its ground-breaking development in Waddington, Lincolnshire. The two houses which are now complete at Brumby Crescent are the first in the country to be built of straw by a local authority. They have been jointly funded by the Council and the Homes &Community Agency and are built to the highest environmental specifications. The revolutionary design and build technology includes walls made of straw bales,sheep’s wool padding in the floor and extra thick roof insulation, recycled glass blocks in the foundations and lime instead of cement. They also feature large South-facing windows for maximum warmth and light, are triple glazed to reduce heat loss, have three times the insulation value of conventional homes,and feature solar water heating and entirely chemical-free natural construction materials, where possible. They have an estimated 200-year lifespan and will have dramatically reduced costs for heating because of their high insulation ratings.