Hemcrete Projects innovative and advanced, low-carbon prefabricated building system, Hembuild, is proving integral to the delivery the first two houses of the Achabeag Township concept - a sustainable community initiative that is located on the picturesque West Coast of Scotland.
Developed by the Ardtornish Estate and Roderick James Architects LLP www.rjarchitects.co.uk - an award winning architectural practice specialising in contemporary timber buildings, particularly houses, extensions and waterside buildings – the Achabeag Township already features two very individual and pioneering designed homes that have been built using the Hembuild wall panel system, and which maybe used on future house designs.
Born out of a Pattern Book created by the Roderick James practice that deliberately stipulates both a direction and coherent styles developed to ultimately create a township or village feel, the properties, each presenting an overall living space of approximately 190m2, are truly individualistic and have been executed to meet the individual visions of both sets of occupants.
Located within close proximity to each other and enjoying a coastal aspect that centres on the ability to savour spectacular views down the Sound of Mull to Oban, the single storey dwellings feature the Hembuild system that is particularly suitable for use in low-rise buildings, deployed around an oak frame in this case. In order to ensure that the visual appearance of both properties sit comfortably within the landscape, the external walls have been subtly tapered, making them feel instantly integral to their surrounding environment.
Commenting on the decision to specify the Hembuild system, Peter Smith of Roderick James Architects said: “Hembuild ticks all of the boxes when it comes to delivering sustainable properties, and the system is ideally suitable for what are two totally different styled houses but which fulfil the requirements of a scheme where the use of natural materials and environmental sustainability are the order of the day.”
Nestling into a hillside with rocky escarpment behind, the first property takes on a crescent-shaped form that curves to create a sheltered outdoor space that looks down the Sound of Mull. Dissecting the curve is a feature-glazed shard that serves to emphasise the properties dramatic views that are enjoyed through a fully glazed façade, whilst drawing light into the centre of the plan. Featuring both a natural slate and sedum green roof, and Lime-based render supplied by Hemcrete Projects’ group company, Lime Technology, the main public area is open plan. This maximises the amount of both space and light, whilst minimising the amount of corridor space between rooms to deliver both ecological and environmental advantages.
In contrast to the crescent shaped form of its counterpart, the second property is aligned over a star shape layout, the form of which echoes the look of a traditional croft: a long and low, single storey building with white harled (rendered) walls, low eaves, dominant gable ends with chimney stacks, and small windows to the north and west. The properties two main ‘wings’ form a shallow V-shape and in doing so create a sheltered outdoor area that is accessible directly from the open plan living space.
Developed to deliver highly sustainable and energy efficient buildings, Hembuild represents the ultimate in truly sustainable building systems. This is due to it being based around a bio-composite building material made from hemp shiv (the woody core of industrial hemp) mixed with a lime-based binder – Tradical Hemcrete. This product, when used in conjunction with equally efficient hemp fibre insulation quilt delivers a groundbreaking combination of insulation and thermal inertia.
Building using Hembuild creates a substantial smoothing out of temperatures, thus reducing peak loads and the capital costs of an M&E system. The building fabric partially takes over the regulation of the internal conditions using the passive properties of Hemcrete, instead of using the active properties of the M&E system. This creates the potential for reducing capital and running costs, both of which can be modelled by Hemcrete Projects Ltd.
In addition to exceeding expectations based on conventional steady state U-values and standard thermal modelling, the process is also negative embodied carbon. This arises due to hemp capturing carbon dioxide during its rapid growth, whilst releasing oxygen back into the atmosphere. The carbon is then locked up within the walls of the building to give a carbon negative solution.