The house was exposed to temperatures of over 1000°C for over two hours, four times longer than the legal requirement, and still held firm.
Funded by Carbon Connections and the Technology Strategy Board, the unit is based at the University of Bath’s BRE Centre in Innovative Construction Materials.
Made using a structural timber frame filled with straw and hemp – and rendered with lime –the system was used last year to build an eco-friendly house for the opening of the Grand Designs Live exhibition.
Commenting on the tests, Professor Pete Walker, Director of the University’s BRE Centre in Innovative Construction Materials said: “Straw is an ideal environmentally-friendly building material because it is renewable and is a by-product of existing farming production.
“Whilst we’ve previously done tests on individual ModCell panels, this is the first time data have been collected from a complete house. We’re hoping this will lead to these renewable materials being used more widely in the building industry for housing in the UK.
“The crop used for the straw can be grown locally, and because it absorbs carbon dioxide as it grows, buildings made from it have a very low carbon footprint,” he added.
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Date Published: November 23, 2009
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