The concept of the design was to not only use bioclimatic principles in
order to reduce the energy demand of the building (thus reducing fossil fuels
and electricity use), but to also give emphasis on the use of materials.
Conventional materials (cement, steel, PVC, aluminium etc) have a high
environmental impact due to their extraction, manufacture, and transport to
site, as well as potentially negative impacts to human health. For the
construction of the house, the intention was to use as much as possible,
‘natural’ materials (e.g. stone, clay, wood, straw etc) which can either be
found in abundance in nature or are renewable.
Locally sourced materials have
been used where possible to minimise transportation impacts and to support the
local economy and labour; their advantage is that they require less energy-intensive processing,
having a lower environmental and financial cost, so the building has a smaller
carbon footprint in construction and operation, and is better integrated with
the natural environment.
