Interview with Kingsley Barraclough

Kingsley’s background as a plumber has given him plenty of opportunities to see houses losing heat and that’s why he was determined to build himself an energy efficient home. So, his goal was to create a small, flexible space with lots of natural light, that was easy to run and also cheap to heat. The new cottage would have a floor area of 125m² and be built on a plot beside his existing property.

Despite Construction Experience, Kingsley Chose to be Just the Client!

Although Kingsley’s an experienced plumber he did not do any of the work himself, reasoning that it would not be a good idea to change the dynamic of a team that already works well together. He also hired a project manager because he believed that while he can work in a team, he did not have the necessary skills required to run a team and deal with the many things that can go wrong!

Hiring a Contract Administrator Made Dealings Simple

Kingsley took the advice of his project manager and hired a contract administrator. This effective third party acts as a membrane between client and builder, and provides some neutral ground should any problems arise. Kingsley says that it worked well for both parties.

Initially Kingsley Discussed The Outcomes He Wanted to Achieve with His Architect

Kingsley’s first step was to sit down with an architect and talk through what he wanted to achieve from the new house. Whereas his existing home was from 1884 and had lots of nooks and small rooms, in contrast he was keen to create a more contiguous living space.

The SIPs are Engineered to Suit the Design

Once a design was created and planning permission acquired, Kingsley had to decide on a build method. After researching structural insulated panels as an option and visiting houses that had been built with them, he chose this route. An engineer then reworked the SIPs method of construction to fit with the design. For example, where the timber panels were not suitable the engineer reinforced it with steel construction to achieve the required look. At no point did Kingsley have to compromise with the SIPs.

A Structural Insulated Panel is Like a Sandwich!

Kingsley explains that the structural insulated panels he used had 20mm of plywood on each face with 80mm of polyurethane foam insulation sandwiched in the middle. Once machined these panels form part of a kit, which turns up labelled and numbered. There are rebates, grooves and fillers that lock all the panels together.

SIPs are Incredibly Quick to Put Up

With the hard work done in a factory, one key advantage of SIPs is that they can be assembled on site very quickly. In this case, the ground floor was done in the first week and the second floor was done in the second week.

The Precision of SIPs is Greater Than a Conventional Build

Having been in the trade for many years, Kingsley says the nature of block and breeze construction means you tend to work to the nearest inch. However, with SIPs you are working to about 3mm.

SIPs Allow You to Work on Two Faces at Once

Once the timber cell has been put up the services can be going on inside – pipework, electrics, etc. – while brick work or cladding can be underway on the exterior. Wet trades are not crossing paths with the services.

Kingsley Presented His Intentions to His Neighbours

Kingsley wanted his house to be a comfy fit for everyone in the area and so he negotiated with the people either side about the aspect, size of the building, etc. As someone who really values his neighbours, presenting his intentions at every stage of the project worked very well.

The Cladding Needs No Maintenance

Two thirds of the face work is in a cottage mix of bricks (three local bricks that are used randomly) and then one third has got a modern version of weatherboard, which is a concrete board, called Eternit board (made by Marley). It gives the impression of being wood but is good for minimising heat losses and also will never need to be painted.

The SIPs Hold up the Bricks!

Kingsley points out that the brickwork – the face work – is attached to the SIPs with brick ties in the conventional way, so it’s not just held there by gravity. It is secured in the same way that brick to breeze block is secured, but really the SIPs panels hold up the bricks, not the other way around.

Buying Windows From Germany was Cheaper

Kingsley put a lot of effort into finding window frames. The triple-glazed ones he eventually bought from Germany were dramatically less than getting them locally. Kingsley does not understand why this is.

Put Your Money into the Fabric of the Building

After considering many options including Huf Haus, but trying to temper budgets and reality, Kingsley ended up concluding that the money is better spent making sure you don’t need energy than in having very fancy low cost energy. So he put a lot of effort and money into making sure he doesn’t lose heat in the first place (rather than having a cheap source of it).

Minimise Your Dependence on Technology

Kingsley did not invest in heat pumps or other renewables because he thought they were too expensive and he didn’t want to have the worry of maintaining them as he got older. The thought of claiming on warranties of companies in 10 years for £30,000 bits of kit somewhere in the ground was something he wanted to avoid.

The House is a Hermetically Sealed Box

Although the appearance may be conventional, the house is airtight and very well insulated. It uses an air management system (mechanical ventilation with heat recovery) to bring in new atomised air but without the heat losses. 80% of the heat of the expelled air is saved and there is a full air change in the house every hour and a half.

Installing Cabling for PV Means it Could be Easily Added Later

A modern high efficiency condensing gas boiler drives the underfloor heating and the hot water, etc. Plus there is a cylinder that will accept solar and cabling to allow for PV at a later stage. Kingsley has no plans to install renewable technology but if efficiencies continue to improve, he wants to make sure he can add them retrospectively (without having to change cylinders and knock holes in the walls to add wires, etc.).

Coordinating the Utilities Proved Difficult

Although Kingsley could get the gas and water companies to be pretty cooperative, he really struggled with UK Power Networks. Kingsley’s advice, for anybody doing a new build in the UK, would be to get that bit applied for at the same time as you get your planning permission. There is a 90 days notice period, even from when they say yes! And this does not necessarily mean they arrive on the 91st day. So, organising this is a priority because not having electricity reliably is going to be a problem. Kingsley says having a contract administrator really helped.

Life is Much Easier When All The Contractors Want the Same Outcome

Kingsley believes he was very fortunate to have a team that shared his vision and all clicked together. He gives the example how if his interior designer came up with a good idea for the kitchen, the person building the kitchen would readily help to achieve it. There were no hidden agendas.

Having Builders Who Got on With the Neighbours Helped

Kingsley was very pleased with his team and thought it was fantastic to have builders that put themselves out to get on with his neighbours. He says this set the flavour for the build and eased pressure points with parking, etc.

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Elrond Burrell on Home Style Green

Elrond Burrell is a guest on the Home Style Green podcast. He gave a really good explanation of the Passivhaus standard (the comfort standard). Check out episode 30: Is Passivhaus relevant to New Zealand?

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Transcript

Download a transcript of the interview with Kingsley Barraclough.

However, as I’ve researched more into the choices available to planners I suppose I realise that there are no easy solutions. If you are going to build new houses you have to put them somewhere!

It was during my chat with Mark Brinkley, when he suggested that high density housing had some sustainability benefits, that I became intrigued. Where would I put new houses if I had to make that call?

What I’d like to do is keep all the green spaces, which technically are protected by green belt status anyway (fingers crossed on that one), whilst at the same time not flooding the town with new properties. Already I can see I’m not very good at this!

So I wanted to work through what the outcomes might be of choosing a low density and high density path.

Density, in this respect, refers to the number of people that live on a given size of land.

Low Density Housing

I personally believe that low density housing is the best option for our health. As humans we need to see something green! A low density neighbourhood promises to be quiet and private, and have very little traffic. Is this not the perfect place to bring up our kids?

This is where it’s time to throw a spanner in the works. While we do technically have the space for these developments, it does still come at a price (as land is a finite commodity). Once we build somewhere we very rarely hand it back to nature. So urban sprawl will occur with low density housing. Plus every time we build on a piece of farm land we are reducing our food growing potential.

Here comes the second spanner. With each day that goes by, as a world we are becoming more conscious that climate change is a reality. If we are serious about reducing carbon dioxide emissions (and other greenhouse gases), then our drive for energy efficiency must intensify and for that to happen we really don’t want to have to use our cars to get everywhere. Low density housing encourages our dependence on vehicles.

High Density Housing

Increasing the amount of high density housing we build will reduce the urban sprawl and allow us to keep our beloved green spaces. Hurrah! It’s also much easier to walk or cycle to shops and services because everything is closer together. Public transport becomes a lot more effective and viable beyond a certain threshold, too, which in turn saves a lot of energy. Areas of high density housing also tend to have a certain buzz about them, with more in the way of entertainment, restaurants, etc. Another benefit is that infrastructure costs diminish as density increases, because a lot of it is already there (electricity, gas, water, etc.).

As you might expect there are some drawbacks! It may be noisy and lack privacy. An area of high density housing could also be defined by the services on offer. For example, if there are lots of swanky restaurants and expensive boutiques, the chances are families on high incomes will be drawn to that area and prices will go up. Conversely, where it’s all budget fast food outlets and discount shops, the dynamic will change again. While nobody has found a connection between high density housing and crime, there may well be a correlation between low income areas and crime. This could be an indirect consequence of high density housing. Also, increasing housing density can create a problem for local schools that may not be able to cope with the new influx of pupils.

The Challenge

Coming back to my hypothetical situation of where to build the houses in or around my home town, it does seem that I would come up against opposition no matter how much thought I put into it. I suppose I would tend towards increasing the town’s density (perhaps as they are doing) but do it in such a way that it doesn’t feel like it! There are some examples of narrow terraced housing that actually has a higher density than you might think. I’m sure that other clever design is at the heart of creating a good solution.

Population

I do wonder whether we need to think about population growth, too, as part of any housing plans. I’m sure politicians will always want more housing because it is a great way to stimulate the economy, but what are the benefits of an ever-increasing population? Am I a bad person for thinking that we’ve got quite enough people on this planet already? Plus, there are natural limits to population and we are probably hurtling towards them. As Thomas Malthus wrote many years ago population will we be kept in check by war, pestilence or famine. What’s coming our way?

Do you think we should be building more low or high density housing? What is the right mix for creating great places to live?

Ben’s Holiday Reading!

Ben talks about reading a short story on climate change during his holiday. It blends facts from the past with a possible outcome of the future and is written by a ‘historian’ in 2074. It’s less than 15 pages and is well worth reading.

The Collapse of Western Civilization: A View from the Future

By Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway

Interview with Mark Saich

Mark has worked in construction for about 25 years as a carpenter (joiner), in building control and also environmental health. Concerned about how buildings were being built, the amount of waste, the embodied energy of the materials in use, etc., he began to explore other options. Since 2000, he has been straw bale building and running training courses in the South East of England.

Straw Bale Building is Nothing New

Straw bale building was used extensively in Nebraska, US, in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Early settlers had to make use of the materials they had to hand.

The Quality of the Bale is Paramount

Although the bales used for construction are essentially regular bales (that you would see in a farmer’s field), they must be of good quality. This means the bales must be nice and tight, reasonably even-sized, dry, vermin-free and seed-free, etc.

Avoid Damp and Dark Bales

To a degree, choosing the right bales is a common sense undertaking. If a bale is damp it will smell damp and it will probably look darker and might even be blackening. These damp bales will also be heavier than a usual bale. Obviously experience of a dry bale is important to be able to tell this. Asking sensible questions of the farmer will also be helpful but it may still be a good idea to engage the services of someone who is experienced in straw bale construction.

A Low Impact Foundation May be Possible

Mark explains that for a load-bearing structure (essentially when you build out of bales just as you would if you were building with bricks) there may be an opportunity to lay a low impact foundation with less concrete, but this will depend on the ground conditions and the size and design of the building.

Problems Generally Only Arise When the Basics are Not Achieved

Although Mark has seen examples of black mould and mushrooms growing on unfinished buildings, he says that it comes down to inappropriate detailing and weather protection during the build. A lot of the principles that need addressing during a straw bale build are the same as a when constructing with brick and block, timber, rammed earth, etc. Get it off the ground and stop rising damp coming up into the building (with the damp proof course, etc.).

Moisture is the Biggest Threat to a Straw Bale Building

As with any building, dealing with moisture is very important. Essentially in a straw bale building the damp proof course is protecting the timber ladder as much as anything. The other source of (external) moisture is rain, which is kept out by having either impermeable or semi-impermeable materials. While in a brick house this would be the bricks and mortar, in a straw bale house it might be timber cladding or lime render.

Internally, a good ventilation strategy will be necessary to deal with moisture that builds up in the air from cooking food or drying clothes, etc. Using breathable materials – that have the ability to absorb and release moisture without it adversely affecting the longevity of the given material – can also assist in this process. Some examples of breathable materials include timber, sheep’s wool, wood fibre, lime plaster and straw bales.

Straw Bales are Excellent Insulators

Although the type of straw, its density and the quality of the build are all factors that affect the rate of heat loss, on average straw bales have a U value of 0.15 w/m². Put into context, UK building regulations currently only demand 0.28 w/m² (so a straw bale wall has roughly half the heat loss of a building regs compliant wall).

Bales Also Used to Form Prefabricated Panels

Mark talks about the ModCell system called Balehaus, which claims a U Value as low as 0.13 w/m² is possible for their 480mm straw product.

Expect a Wall Thickness of 0.5m

Typically with a rendered, plastered and clad (straw bale) wall, the thickness will be about half a metre. However, with building regulations likely to become more stringent in the coming years and most ultra low energy buildings demanding a lot of insulation anyway, this space is not out of the ordinary. Unless in a densely populated area, sacrificing an extra 10cm or so (in thickness) to use a low embodied material is not normally a big issue.

Load Bearing Structures Rarely Reach Three Storeys

Mark talks about non-load bearing structures – essentially where there’s a framed building with straw bales in between – and how with an engineered frame (that’s been tested accordingly) and infill panels, there is no limit to the number of floors of a building. With a load bearing structure, on the whole they are only single or double storey buildings. Mark says there are some examples with three storeys but it’s more like a half storey with a low eave (a chalet bungalow), that reduces some of the risk and some of the heights of the straw. This also makes better use of the materials because you are occupying half a roof space.

If a Building is Structurally Sound, Resale Should Not be a Problem

Although Mark had no information on whether straw bale houses can be valued alongside brick and block houses, he suggested that most people are fulfilling a dream to live this way and might stay in their new homes for many years. However, if a house is structurally sound and the building has been approved, inspected and signed off by building control, then getting a mortgage shouldn’t be a problem. Some mortgage companies will insist on a building warranty (which can be obtained from warranty companies). In the UK, Triodos and the Ecology Building Society both lend money at a preferential rate if you build to a good eco standard.

Building a Straw Bale Home has the Potential to be Cheaper

Trying to make a house ‘eco’ as an afterthought, by transposing materials for example, will probably mean that a straw bale build becomes more expensive. Designing the building from scratch with good environmental considerations can help bring the price down, particularly if you’re making your own clay plaster or if you use reclaimed materials, etc.

The Cost of Walls is Approximately 15% of The Build

As the walls only account for about 15% of the final cost of building a house, the savings of a straw bale construction may not be as great as one might hope. So, comparing like-for-like brick and block house to a straw bale house, even if the straw bales were half the price, it’s not a massive reduction in the cost of the build.

The Simple Things Will Lead to a Home That is Cheaper to Run

Mark points out that designing a house to the size of your needs rather than to that of your greed will really reduce costs. Also, having a good thermal performance in the floor and the roof, and high performance windows that benefit from solar gain. Plus, installing high efficiency heating, lighting and hot water systems will all contribute to lowering the running costs.

Constructing with Straw Bales Lends Itself to a DIY Build

Mark sums up building with straw bales as friendly and fun, and it ticks all the environmental boxes! He does recommend that it should be guided DIY, whereby you engage the services of someone who understands how to design buildings with straw and ideally someone with practical experience, too . Neglecting this could be costly for the building both in energy terms and longevity.

Green Building Solutions

As well as consulting on ecological building, Mark runs training courses on bale building (as well as spoon carving, clay plastering, etc.)

Ask Your Questions or Share Your Feedback

• Email feedback@houseplanninghelp.com

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Transcript

Download a transcript of the interview with Mark Saich.

What factors undermine the logical drive for energy efficiency?

At this time it’s crucial that we do not make the wrong decisions when it comes to building or retrofitting houses. 

Whilst on holiday I happened to bump into some people who worked in the shale gas industry. They were very pleasant but, as with the bloke down the pub who I discovered had voted UKIP the other day, there was a slight tension when I started asking more in-depth questions. To be honest they allayed many of my fears, but perhaps armed with more knowledge myself I could have dug deeper.

Anyway, one aspect that became very apparent from the conversations was that they did not see themselves as having any responsibility in making sure that the energy they extracted goes as far as it possibly can. I know this probably isn’t part of their job description but for some reason I found it unsettling.

It got me thinking as to some of the factors that might be slowing down the roll out of energy efficient homes.

1. Cheap energy

Although energy efficiency makes sense, it’s amazing how quickly it can fall down the list of priorities when cheap energy is plentiful. When I initially started my research, I was unaware of the energy crisis of the 1970s and the subsequent drive for better housing in the 1980s. Unfortunately, despite many solutions being exhibited at trade shows such as Homeworld, none of the energy efficient designs made it into the mainstream.

In our current predicament of depleting fossil fuel reserves it would seem very unlikely that the cost of energy could go down, but if the extraction of shale gas leads to another ‘oil rush’ then it could happen. The worst case scenario would be if subsidies were given to these companies in a desperate bid to keep the energy coming rather than address the efficiency of our building stock.

2. Fossil Fuel Industries

Companies that make a living from the extraction of coal, gas, oil, etc., are ultimately going to be out of business on this planet. It may take 500 years, 200 years or happen much sooner than we all imagine, but these finite resources will eventually run out (and we also know some of them can’t be used anyway without triggering the final disastrous consequences of climate change). For a very lucrative business, they will not take this lying down. As experts in locating and extracting resources, with considerable funding behind them, don’t expect them to wind down their activities, even if that might be what’s best.

3. Weak Legislation

Governments, more than ever, have a big role to play in driving up the standards of our homes. Clearly this can’t happen overnight but with an over-arching goal and an incremental approach, at least things will be moving in the right direction.

Of course, this is often easier said than done. In the UK, the Code for Sustainable Homes was such regulation, with the long term plan to make all homes zero carbon by 2016. Unfortunately it’s falling on some rocky ground as its box ticking approach seems to favour bolt-on gadgets over fabric efficiency. This is where the government’s contemplating scrapping it and clinging onto the positive spin of ‘cutting the red tape to get the UK building again’. Simplification of systems is a good thing but I personally believe getting rid of targets and moving deadlines is not a good solution. Of course, the Code needs an overhaul though!

4. The Difficulty of Retrofitting

While simple measures (such as installing loft insulation) can help our homes perform better, more radical retrofits are invasive. Whether insulating externally or internally there is likely to be loss of features, which can be hard for some homeowners to accept. Plus the more airtight the building becomes, the more important it is to have a clear ventilation strategy. With no straightforward solutions it’s easy to favour new build or consider retrofitting the property at a later date when better approaches might be available.

5. Homeowners!

For some homeowners it will be a lack of finances that stops them from upgrading to something more efficient. For others it could be the thought of living for the day – who cares about the right or sensible thing to do when they can have their dream kitchen! House appearance may also play a part in the psyche, deterring some individuals who imagine energy efficient homes only to be rather ugly boxes.

6. Downsizing

For those who live in a reasonable size of house and are feeling the pinch, the most immediate way to reduce running costs is to move into a smaller house. This helps the individual but doesn’t address the overall problem of rising utility bills. It could also lead to a period where a lot of larger houses become vacant or are only partially heated during the colder months.

7. Different standards of energy efficient home

What classes as an energy efficient home to one person might be laughable to another. As with labels such as ‘eco’ or ‘sustainable’ or ‘low energy’ homes, it’s all about quantifying what these things are before they become the buzzword of the day. That’s one reason that an as-built standard such a Passivhaus makes life much simpler: you can immediately tell whether a house hits the mark.

What do you think is slowing down progress to energy efficient homes? Is there anything you’d like to add to the list?

Check Out Our Brand New Videos

We’ve teamed up with Martin Evans from the Malthouse Consultancy (who was our guest in episode 2) to bring you a case study of an energy efficient country house. Martin explains the key considerations and how it was built.

Check out the House Planning Help YouTube Channel to view two more videos with Martin Evans. He takes us on a tour of his plant room and outlines the factors that will drive down efficiency of a ground source heat pump. Plus, what is the order of priorities if you’re looking to create an energy efficient home?

Find out more about Martin Evans and the Malthouse Consultancy.

Interview with Matthew Cutler-Welsh

Matthew trained as an engineer before working for the New Zealand Green Building Council. His passion for building houses that are beneficial to the occupants as well as the planet even stretches outside work, where he has set up a podcast called Home Style Green.

Urban Areas Have The Biggest Impact on Our Environment

Matthew believes that sustainable urban systems are of great importance. This is because towns and cities are where most people live, consume resources and create waste. So ironically, it is these urban areas that actually have the greatest effect on our natural environment.

We All Have a Role to Play in Improving The Situation

Although Matthew realises the size of the problem can be overwhelming, he thinks we can all influence the way we live. For Matthew, getting involved with how we design and build our houses is something that’s a lot more manageable to focus on.

Home Style Green is About Sharing Knowledge

Home Style Green aims to be a resource for anyone wanting to build a better home, who is not satisfied with the status quo and the way things are being done. The podcast features various interviews with professionals in order to share knowledge on how to achieve higher standards with housing.

Homestar is a New Zealand Sustainability Tool

Matthew uses Homestar in his work at the New Zealand Green Building Council. It is a sustainability tool that splits into 6 categories and considers things like energy use, water use, the comfort of the house, wastage (during construction and on an ongoing basis), permeability of the site and where the house is located in the context of the local amenities.

Matthew presents the High Performance Home in Christchurch with their 8 Homestar certificate

House Affordability is a Key Issue Across The World

Matthew explains that two big issues in New Zealand are availability and affordability. However, he’s also noticing that affordability is becoming a bigger issue across the world. This is often misconstrued to mean just the purchase price of a house but over the lifetime of that building, the largest costs tend to be the running costs. Matthew believes this fact does not even register with the mainstream media.

Expats Are Having a Positive Impact on New Zealand Housing

While Matthew describes a lot of New Zealand’s housing stock as ‘appalling’, he says that people moving to New Zealand from overseas have a positive influence. They are often shocked by the condition of some of the houses but with the experience of better housing want to make a difference.

Attitudes in New Zealand Unwittingly Maintain Low Standards

Most people who have grown up in a typical New Zealand house unwittingly contribute to the preservation of these standards. Instead of demanding better, the culture is one of toughening up and accepting the way buildings are constructed.

The Building Code is Still Below Par

In New Zealand, insulation was not a requirement of the building code until 1978. Even in 2004, the level of insulation required was not good. Even today, Matthew gives an example of a building in Christchurch that is less than two years old and has a totally uninsulated concrete floor slab, yet it is code compliant. Matthew’s opinion is that even the current code is below par.

Change is Driven By Market Forces Rather Than a Clear Goal

Matthew sees Britain’s goals of achieving carbon neutrality in buildings by 2016 as a good objective that is driving things in the right direction. He explains that, as far as he is aware, there is no such visionary, over-arching goal in New Zealand. Advances are reliant on industry as better products become available and are adopted. Matthew describes this as ‘a risky business’.

60-70% of New Zealand’s Electricity Comes From Hydro Electric Power

Although New Zealand pulled out of the Kyoto Protocol, part of the reason was that there’s not a real connection between carbon, and building and energy use because 60-70% of the electricity production is from hydro electric power. This means New Zealand doesn’t have the same level of emissions issues from the energy sector as other parts of the world. However a lot of New Zealand’s emissions come from the agricultural sector.

Recent Droughts on The North Island Make Climate Change More Real

Matthew believes that a lot of people are not switched on to the realities of climate change, but as agriculture is such an important part of the New Zealand economy, with unusual weather patterns and droughts, questions are starting to be asked.

Matt and his three kids

Families Are Likely to Come Before The Environment

With people struggling to stay warm and pay utility bills, the primary issue is always likely to be looking after the family. Matthew is an advocate of sustainability by stealth, whereby you address the issues that people are facing and look at the connection with those and some of the environmental goals that you want to achieve. For example, improving the insulation of a home might reduce power bills which will also help the family that lives there.

New Zealand Has The Second Highest Asthma Rate in The World

Matthew highlights the need to create healthier homes because New Zealand has the second highest asthma rate in the whole world. It is also the leading cause of hospitalisation for children, with 1 in 4 children having relatively severe asthma. Matthew describes these statistics as ‘scary’ for a so-called developed country.

Houses Affect Our Health

As we spend so much time in houses, they do have an impact on our health and well being. Cold and damp environments are not conducive to a good quality of life. Matthew says the mortality rate in New Zealand increases rapidly during wintertime. Once people have more experience of better homes, they are more likely to demand them.

Matthew’s Recommended Resources

• ECOBOB – Find information on green homes, sustainable design and eco living in New Zealand.
• The Sustainable House (affiliate link) by Michael Mobbs - this is a book that inspired Matthew when he was at school. Michael Mobbs converted a terraced house in Sydney into a sustainable home, which was particularly interesting as Michael’s background was in law rather than construction.

Find out more about Matthew Cutler-Welsh

• Follow Matthew on Twitter
• Home Style Green website
• Home Style Green Facebook page
• Home Style Green on Pinterest

Ask Your Questions or Share Your Feedback

• Email feedback@houseplanninghelp.com

Please Connect With Me

• Subscribe, rate and review the podcast in iTunes
• Like our Facebook page
• Follow us on Twitter

Transcript

Download a transcript of the interview with Matthew Cutler-Welsh.

Interview with Andy Simmonds

Aged 12, Andy got his first taste of sustainable construction taking a few courses at the Centre for Alternative Technology. After attending architecture college, Andy worked with engineer Chris Wallis, son of Barnes Wallis, on numerous interesting projects including stonework, timber frame construction, repairing windmills, etc. With a love of nature and the countryside, he developed an awareness of the importance of ecology when designing and building. As well as running Simmonds Mills Architects he is part time Chief Executive of the AECB (the sustainable building association).

The AECB is a Network of People with a Common Aim of Promoting Sustainable Building

Andy gives some background about the AECB. It was set up by a builder and his wife in 1989, focussing on construction but with an awareness of ecology and the environment. It’s got a very broad mix of members and there are many resources, such as the low energy buildings database, the technical discussion forums, the annual conference, local groups and so on. With about 1500 members, this vibrant group of people share their practical experience and expertise with each other. Andy says it’s a very fast way of learning, getting to grips with things and improving your business as well.

Ventilation is Necessary to Get The Air to Breathe, But Also to Remove The Pollutants

Andy uses an example of the International Space Station to illustrate the fundamentals of ventilation. They are in a sealed unit (although not completely airtight) and need air to breathe, but also a way to flush away pollutants. These could be carbon dioxide or other gases created by equipment, etc.

Early Buildings Just Let The Wind Blow Through

Although early buildings had a lot of natural ventilation, some stone and brick buildings with solid floors were actually pretty airtight. As people found new ways of building, some constructions (from 60s, 70s and 80s, for example) were potentially leakier and more open to the elements than some of the older buildings. Draught proofing without thinking of ventilation can create quite unhealthy environments.

Over Ventilating and Under Ventilating Are The Two Extremes

A house with all its windows open could be an example of over ventilating. This might be useful to clear a fug but if it’s cold outside, a lot of heat energy from the house will be wasted during ventilation. The reverse situation could be keeping all the windows shut and draught proofing well, so any pollutants from off-gassing carpets (for example) or from cooking with gas hob, etc., cannot escape. In the heating season neither of these extremes is an effective way of ventilating a house and getting good air quality.

In a Retrofit, Mechanical Ventilation Lets You Control The Situation

Mechanical ventilation is an approach that’s becoming used much more often. Two systems worth considering at are extract-only or mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR).

Extract-only Mechanical Ventilation

This approach extracts air from wet rooms, kitchens, bathrooms and so on, and then the fresh air is drawn in through trickle vents in the windows. These are slots in the windows, which will provide a background level of fresh air coming into the house. However, with the extract ventilation system, which is basically a box with a fan in it, the air is continually pulled through at a very low level. Even with a peak load during cooking, for example, this background ventilation can cope without turning up the fan.

Incoming Air From Trickle Vents Will be at The Outdoor Temperature

Andy explains that on a cold winter’s day, you might feel that incoming air as a cold draught if you’re sitting near the window. This is why radiators have often been positioned underneath the windows, so as the cold air comes in it falls down and to some extent warms up. Andy outlines a good approach used in Scandinavia, where they put an air inlet through the wall, maybe behind the radiator, so as you pull in air from outside it comes and warms itself on the radiator and doesn’t feel like chilled air.

Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery Provides Fresh Air and Keeps The Heat

Mechanical ventilation with heat recovery both extracts the air from the wet rooms (kitchens, bathrooms and so on) but also puts it back in via ducts and air terminals throughout the house. This is therefore a balanced system. Although the heat is taken out of the outgoing air and put back into the incoming air, the air itself doesn’t mix. The heat is transferred as the air crosses through a matrix, a plastic honeycomb for example. So just the heat is transferred. The warmed incoming air is fresh.

In a Low Energy Retrofit, Ventilation Air and Air Leakage are Considered Separate Issues

Andy points out that until recently ‘ventilation air’ and ‘air leakage’ (the air that finds its way in through cracks, gaps and holes in the building) were much the same thing. However, in a low energy retrofit where the objective is to make the building as airtight as possible, the issues are considered separately. Creating and designing a system specifically for ventilation is vital.

Think About Ventilation From The Outset

Your ventilation strategy will depend a lot on the building you’re hoping to retrofit. Once you have a professional assessment of how airtight you can make the building, then you can make an appropriate strategy. British houses from the 1970s and 1980s can be difficult to make airtight, whereas solid-walled properties with solid floors are often much easier. This year the AECB aims to release a retrofit guidance programme to help in this process.

Grove Cottage meets the EnerPHit standard

Larger MVHR Units Are More Efficient

Andy talks through the MVHR unit he has at Grove Cottage, which has two low voltage, low wattage fans, one for extracting air from the house and one for pulling air into the house. The largest part of the box is the heat exchanger. Andy’s unit is situated behind cupboard doors in a utility room. While it does take up a fair amount of space, Andy points out that the larger the unit, the more efficient. This is because the more space the air has to move through, the less work the fans have to do, so very small units tend to be much less efficient than Passivhaus certified units.

Mechanical Ventilation Only Makes Sense With Certain Levels of Airtightness

Andy generally only recommends mechanical ventilation with heat recovery when the air change rate for the house is less than 1.5 air changes per hour. This is because the savings must warrant the investment in electrical energy. However, for the extract-only system an air change rate of 3 would be acceptable. Part of the difficulty is in planning for the air change rate when you’re deciding what sort of ventilation system to have, because after construction you may not have achieved the level of airtightness you had hoped for!

Externally Insulating Grove Cottage Was an Easy Route

Andy explains his approach to retrofitting Grove Cottage, which is a solid brick house. As the brickwork was of no particular architectural quality – it was painted white – externally insulating was the easier option (compared to internally insulating). The starting point was to mark on the plans in a red pen where the continuous air tightness plane goes, forming a strategy of how to deal with weak points. Andy describes how he sealed the brickwork to the roof membrane (which is basically a plastic sheet) with bitumen tape, which proved to be very successful. He emphasises the importance of a clear strategy and not leaving it to the last minute.

The Right Advice Can Save You Money

It is essential to spend time early on thinking through the detail of the retrofit. This could stop all sorts of problems arising on site and prevent a poor result at the end of the job. Andy reflects on how people can be reluctant to spend money on these services, preferring to invest in the measures instead. However, this upfront thinking could actually save a lot of money.

Maintaining a Ventilation System is Not Onerous

Andy’s MVHR unit runs throughout the year and supplies fresh air which is slightly warmed by the outgoing air (although it’s not a heating system) to about 21 degrees. The system has been set so that the fans go up to a higher speed around mealtimes, etc. While you can adjust it manually on the control panel as required, most of the time no intervention is necessary. The one exception to this is when the cardboard and fleece filters need changing. A light on the unit may even indicate when to do this.

Make Sure You Have Easy Access to Your Ventilation Unit

Think carefully about where the ventilation system is located. If it’s positioned in the loft or screwed down behind a panel, this will make the simple maintenance jobs more of a pain. Equally, in a retrofitted house like Grove Cottage (that has been well-insulated and has triple glazing, etc.) and is therefore peaceful, you want to locate the ventilation units away from quiet spaces. There will be a slight hum, so keep it away from sleeping areas, for example.

Ventilation Systems Must be Properly Commissioned and Balanced

When these systems are put in, it’s very important that they are commissioned and balanced properly. There’s a number of reasons for that, but in terms of comfort, over ventilation could mean that you start to notice draughts!

Not Considering Ventilation Could be a Health Risk

Andy outlines his concerns about the choices some people are making with their homes. He gives an example of putting in a wood stove. Leaving aside the combustion products and air pollution, Andy suggests that without an external air supply vent for the wood stove, you will be pulling in cold air up through your basement, through the floorboards and cracks and gaps. This will create cold draughts, which will add to discomfort, but the whole reason the stove was installed was to be more comfortable!

MVHR Systems For Retrofit Likely to be a Small Niche

Andy believes that we need to be much more conscious of ventilation because air quality is very important. He sees mechanical ventilation with heat recovery as being a relatively small niche for retrofit, but that extract-only ventilation could have a bigger role to play.

Useful Links

Download a PDF About Retrofitting Grove Cottage 

Simmonds Mills Architects

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Transcript

Download a transcript of the interview with Andy Simmonds.

First, let’s look at some of the fundamentals of garden cities and consider Ebenezer Howard’s vision.

Ebenezer Howard’s Self-Contained Cities

Ebenezer Howard was a reformist who sought to provide an alternative to the overcrowded cities (where standards were deteriorating) by creating self-contained communities, each surrounded by green belt land. He wanted a place that balanced housing, industry and agriculture, finding a middle ground between town and country, and enjoying the benefits of each without the disadvantages. Community was at the heart of this, with a co-operative approach envisaged for land ownership and food grown on the surrounding fields. Howard also proposed that satellite cities would surround a larger city (as in the plan below).

It’s interesting to note that Howard had limited practical experience but nonetheless managed to plan and realise two cities in Hertfordshire, UK. His ideas were documented in the publication ‘To-morrow: a Peaceful Path to Real Reform’ in 1898 and were later revised for ‘Garden Cities of To-morrow’. Making it a reality on the ground was a massive challenge. In 1899, with backing from wealthy investors, construction of Letchworth Garden City began. Some of Howard’s ideals had to be comprised, as investors sought to profit from the new town whereas Howard had proposed a much more egalitarian society.

For his second garden city, about 20 years later, Howard bought the land himself. Welwyn Garden City would benefit from the experienced gained in Letchworth.

Garden Cities Are Still Great Places to Live

Creating a city from scratch is quite a responsibility. As I think about Welwyn Garden City nearly 100 years after it was conceived, there is no doubt it is desirable. A magnificent boulevard is still a striking feature. Trees line the roads. The grass verges are wider than perhaps they needed to be and there is space. I personally feel this ‘connection with something green‘ is vital in all our lives but I can see the flip side of the coin. Critics of garden cities suggest that low density housing wastes land and invariably forces us into our cars. In an energy-constrained future, we need sustainable urban spaces. Striking that balance is difficult.

Maintaining The Population of a Town is a Challenge

I have questions about whether you can maintain the size of a town or city in this current cycle of growth. Yes, we cannot keep on multiplying as a species indefinitely, as the planet does not have the resources, but where does that leave us with creating great places to live? If there is an optimum amount of people for a town or city – as Howard proposed in his garden cities with 32,000 per satellite city – there will come a time when the city is full. The only way to maintain this population would be to police it. Construction would have to stop or only replace like for like (in terms of capacity). As far as I’m aware we’re not doing that.

Part of Howard’s vision was to start the next city at this point anyway. As these new cities are not on the cards, what happens to the population of existing garden city? Is a green belt only a protected area until more land is needed? My experience is that towns keeping growing. If the green belt is respected then old houses get removed in favour of new higher density housing. Gardens get split in half and have a new house at the other end. Over time this must have an impact.

Where Does That Leave us Today?

We have to set our targets high, like Howard did with his Utopian dream, when we are planning places to live. In an energy-constrained future, the vision of our cities – particularly if starting from scratch – is more important than ever. Sustainable urban systems are essential as the greatest impact on the natural environment is made, ironically, in our cities. Although this self sufficiency did not happen in Howard’s two garden cities, perhaps it’s becoming a much more relevant idea once again. If travel becomes a luxury, working where we live or remotely via the Internet would increase. We’d also need to cater for the products that we used to import from the other side of the world.

Could Self Build Communities be The Modern Garden Cities?

The more I consider the self build market, the more I like it. Self build communities seem to encapsulate the passion that Ebenezer Howard had for planning better places to live, the only difference being that everyone has an input once the master planning has been done. Not only are houses likely to be built to a better overall standard, but they are bespoke to the individual’s needs and this whole construction process creates bonds in the community. It seems possible that this is the natural progression of the garden city model.

Is the garden city movement something that is still relevant today? How do we create sustainable urban areas?

Interview with Mark Brinkley

Mark has been involved in construction for over 30 years, initially as a site carpenter and then doing his own developments of barns and new builds. In the 90s he decided to write about the process and produced The Housebuilder’s Bible, which has been a popular resource for people wanting to find out about the practicalities of building a house. It’s revised every two years and is approaching its 10th edition.

Fashions and Regulations Change The Most Through The Years

Mark includes prices in his book and says that, funnily enough, they don’t vary that much – the things that really change are people’s tastes and also the regulations. Incrementally there are more codes, and changes to building regulations and planning. He concludes that it seems to get more complicated!

Much More Choice Now

In the 80s and 90s there were straightforward choices, such as choosing between timber frame or brick and block, but now there are many options. Mark talks about using Boulton and Paul windows in every house in the early days, whereas now there’s a huge selection from which to choose. Not only are products available from different countries, but they perform to different standards.

Self Builders Are Likely to Make Mistakes

Mark praises self builders for their enthusiasm and ability to learn, often picking up things that people in the trade close their minds to. However, this can lead to taking on ideas that look good on paper but turn out to be very difficult in practice.

Building Your House is Like Choosing a Holiday Abroad!

Mark talks about compromises and having to jump one way. It’s like going to Italy for a week! If you take in Venice and Rome, it means you miss Sienna and Bologna and Naples, and all the other good things. Perhaps at the end of the holiday you’ll end up thinking that you’ve just scraped the surface.

The People You Meet Have a Major Influence on The House You Build

Mark suggests that building a house is a people business. The people with whom you get on are generally those who guide you. Whether that is actually a good approach or not is impossible to know. Very often connections are made at shows or you meet people or friends that have done it. This subtle influence can often have a major impact on the project.

Self Build Accounts For a Tiny Amount of UK Housing

Over the last few years Mark has been working with Ted Stevens and NaSBA to help promote self build in the UK. While 10-15% of UK houses are self built, in many European countries that figure is around 50%. In fact, this approach is so common that they don’t even refer to it as being self build, it’s just how they build houses!

Huge Uplift in Value of Agricultural Land in UK, if Marked for Development

In the UK, the system sees the land owner and their agent (usually a volume house builder) promote schemes to the council. The council arbitrates, giving a yes or no. If it goes ahead then they try to claw back as much as they can in tax from the deals. Subsequently there is a huge uplift between the value of agricultural land, which is worth a few thousand pounds an acre, and the land now for house building, which could be worth a million pounds an acre.

UK Farmer’s Windfall Not Popular with Villagers

Any British farmer that can sell off a field as a building plot effectively wins the lottery! The rest of the village feels cut off from this process and also perceive the farmer as being greedy. This is where the acronym NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) comes into play. What happens in Germany is completely different.

German Councils Buy Land From Farmers

In Germany, the councils almost have a system of compulsory purchase. Once land is identified, the farmer gets a small premium for losing it and then the council divides it up into serviced plots. These are then sold to local people as a priority.

German Custom Builders Commission Local Companies for Their Builds

The owner of each serviced plot will visit a show house village to choose exactly what he or she wants. This creates competition between the 150 (often family-run) custom home builders, who each only deliver a few hundred homes a year. This competition also keeps building standards high.  So, there’s a lot more choice for the person who wants to build: from choosing the plot to deciding exactly what goes on it.

British Council’s Used to Be More Involved

Mark gives an example of a Cambridge development from the 1930s where the council actually laid out the street and then self builders and small local developers took it from there. Somehow through the years the British system has changed. The council’s have now become box tickers and tax collectors. Their interest is in the number of units, the road infrastructure and the schools, etc.

Sustainability is a Benefit of High Density Housing

While the UK’s new housing has a reputation for being the smallest in Europe, with little or no gardens, it is a more sustainable situation! Towns don’t tend to sprawl as much, brown field sites are developed and people can walk to local amenities. But does the German’s looser, more organic approach actually create better places to live?

Low Density Housing Can be More Biodiverse

There’s a lot of evidence that a house with a big garden has a lot more biodiversity in it than a field that it might have replaced. This is a view that is rarely considered in the UK. Instead, development gets equated to more countryside going under concrete!

Wind Farm Profits Shared in Germany

The attitude to wind farms is also very different in Germany. While 99% of the UK’s population don’t want wind turbines near them, the Germany system creates an incentive. Profits from the wind turbines are shared with the village as well as the people putting the scheme forward.

The UK Land Paradox

Although land is nominally privately owned, it is controlled by the council, sometimes by the state, and affected by the neighbours! It’s not quite a free market and it’s not quite state controlled.

Boom and Bust Less Likely in Germany Due to Intervention

Driven by the free market in the UK, we are less likely to interfere in the land. Paradoxically we’ve ended up with all the deals being done with big landowners and developers, and the little guys getting cut out of the system. Whereas the Germans have been far more interventionist they have ended up with a freer market and a much better functioning market! They don’t have the huge boom and bust of the UK housing market. They build better homes and seem to satisfy what people want.

Most German Spec Building is in Cities

The only spec building that goes on in Germany is when apartments are constructed in cities. Clearly the custom build model would not work for a complex structure like this. Almost everything out in the small towns and the countryside is just done by individuals working with all these house building companies.

Neighbourly Disputes Less Likely in Germany

Whereas British councils invite objections from neighbours, in Germany you’re expected to resolve any issues with your neighbours face to face. You must go around to your neighbours and talk it through. British culture seems to have developed an adversarial approach, particularly when it comes to planning!

Changing Systems in the UK Would be Hard

Mark likens the prospect of changing the UK system to turning around a super tanker – it couldn’t happen overnight. The industry doesn’t exist. It would take years of much more conciliatory planning for the confidence to build up for these businesses. Of course, there’s no reason why it couldn’t happen in theory.

Factory Building Approach Risky in UK’s Market

While it is clear that factory building can continue in all weathers and is much more efficient, it hasn’t really ever taken off in the UK. There’s more of it in self build than there is in mainstream building. Part of the concern is due to the huge capital investment needed. If the market has a steady demand then that is one thing, but the UK’s boom and bust extremes make it a realistic that you could go out of business in the bad times.

For Change to Occur Councils Need to be More Interventionist

UK councils have to stop being frightened of the way the system is at the moment and become much more interventionist. Some councils are taking on board the idea that land should be retained for self builders. Mark talks about some great examples in Shropshire, where they’re even including self build in their affordable housing quota so they can actually bring forward schemes that they know developers aren’t going to get into.

Government Blind to How Much Spec Build There is

While the UK government have supported the idea of creating more self build opportunities, Mark’s closing thoughts are that the government doesn’t see the reverse of the situation. To get more self build will mean a reduction in the amount of spec build. As spec builders have long arms in deep pockets and are very effective lobbyists, it’s hard to see them giving up their grip on the system as it now exists.

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Transcript

Download a transcript of the interview with Mark Brinkley.

Graffiti Replaces Greenery

Let’s start with the one at the top of my hitlist. There was a lovely bit of vegetation on a walkway between a road and the local DIY store. When I saw what had happened the first time, I got a double pang in my stomach, because not only had we lost the trees but we now get a good view of some graffiti, which must have been there in the past but was hidden by the foliage. It’s hard to say what more has been lost. It’s a tiny chink of urbanisation that has taken place. On its own, it means very little. I believe the cumulative effect is more troublesome.

Maybe the council will not have to worry about that section now as there’s nothing left to maintain. The nothingness is part of the problem though in my view. Perhaps if there had been plans for a beautiful array of flowers or smaller bushes I might have felt slightly more optimistic. Instead, I try to tot up how this adds with other telltale signs of increasing urbanisation.

Car Ports Replace Gardens

I can see why it happens. Parking is an issue and you want to get out of the game of finding a space in the permit zone. So, that small patch of land in front of the house will just about fit a car on it! Cue the paving going down and the odd parking space emerges . . . sometimes with a car angling into the road. Developers can even look for these opportunities in a bizarre twist, where it makes the property listing tick another box of ‘parking space’.

I keep wracking my brains for a better alternative but I haven’t had any joy yet. When this happens in one spot it looks a bit of a mess, but life moves on. I’ve driven through parts of West London where it’s happened everywhere and it almost has that ‘broken window’ feeling. A thriving community needs its outward sign that people care. Do car ports send out the message that parking the car is more important than creating a place with a great feeling? Just a thought.

Building Sites Replace Woodland

I understand the need for new housing but the impact of slashing back a large area of scrubland has removed the nice natural break between one part of town and another. Now, you can see the flats on the other side, which offer much higher density of housing than the traditional railway cottages. No doubt this view will change again when the next development begins. It would be fantastic to see more self build, as there might be more of a drive to have local input into creating green spaces around the new abodes.

More Light to See The Car Park

Again it’s that weird sense that something’s missing. Near the local sports centre this time, a number of trees had been cut down in the car park. One benefit of doing this is regaining all the light that might be owed to the space. I’m imagining the roots might have been causing trouble but it’s that extreme contrast.

Could We Still Be Planting Trees in Our Towns?

I don’t really have a conclusion to this article – it’s just something I needed to communicate to someone! I’ve really written it to see what comments you might have. Is it a natural part of any space to become more urbanised? Do you have examples of where it’s gone the other way? I’d love to hear from you.

The Ecobuild exhibition took place at London’s ExCeL between 5th – 7th March and played host to over 800 speakers. This episode is therefore just scratching the surface of a huge event and is really only representative of the sessions Ben attended.

Short Interview with Janet Cotterell

Janet is co-author of The Passivhaus Handbook. [We interviewed Adam Dadeby, the other co-author, in episode 5.] Part of Janet’s seminar at Ecobuild talked about her own Victorian semi-detached home, which has a Passivhaus standard extension. This article in the Telegraph goes into more detail about the property. Ben was keen to understand how the house works as a whole, because the old part hasn’t had a complete retrofit.

Janet explains that she made a few improvements before moving into the house, such as highly insulating the floor and dealing with the air tightness on the ground floor. Once living in the house, this kind of work would’ve been too disruptive to carry out.

Do It Once and Get it Right

Janet is carrying out a phased retrofit of the property and so it was really important to have everything thought out properly. She does not want to block herself off from the possibility of reaching the EnerPHit standard at a later date.

The Passivhaus Extension Has Reduced Draughts Through The Whole House

Wanting to do things properly, the new extension was highly insulated to Passivhaus standards. There are no doors separating it from the rest of the house, which was a very conscious decision because it’s not got MVHR. Janet describes the Passivhaus extension as still maintaining its own climate, despite opening into the leaky old building. This also reduces draughts in the old building because there needs to be and entry and exit point for air to be drawn through the house.

Short Interview with Jon Bootland

Jon Bootland is Chief Executive of the Passivhaus Trust. He explains how Passivhaus in the UK has made steady progress from just one building being certified in 2007/2008 to 150 at the end of 2012. By the end of the 2013, there are expected to be a further 500 buildings certified. Jon says it is still niche but taking off quite quickly.

A packed seminar hosted by the Passivhaus Trust

Passivhaus is Being Adopted into Building Regulations in Some Parts of Europe

Jon outlines recent changes in parts of Germany, Austria and Belgium, which are adopting the Passivhaus standard into their regulations (by 2015 and 2016). He says the UK would not be ready to do something like this and needs to develop supply chains, train more designers as well as gain further experience. This is about taking it slowly and getting it right, not rushing it and making a mess of things.

Certification is About Quality Assurance

Not only does Passivhaus deliver a very high quality home with very low running costs but it’s the whole quality-assured process, using certified designers, certified products, and you can use certified people on site.

Choose Someone with Passivhaus Experience

If you are looking to create a Passivhaus, Jon believes the most crucial thing is to pick someone who’s done one before. The approach to the planning and layout the site is very different, so somebody who has already been through the process is invaluable. Find out more from the Passivhaus Trust and take a look through their list of members to see who has done the kind of project you might be looking to do.

Short Interview with Jo Gooding

Jo is coordinator of the UK Cohousing Network. She explains that the origins of cohousing can be traced back 150 years in England through Ebenezer Howard’s garden cities movement. The first cohousing community was set up in Sweden in the 1960s, after a group of parents looked into how they might raise their children together while also maintaining privacy, too.

Cohousing is in its Infancy in the UK

Currently in England there are 15 built cohousing communities, with 45 communities in development around England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. About 60% are intergenerational communities, while the other 40% are senior cohousing communities. They vary in size from about 20 to 40.

Community Engagement Paramount to Energy Efficiency

Jo explains that you can have excellent building fabrics, the best technology, etc., but without the mechanisms for people to structure and create systems to be able to reduce, reuse, recycle a big part is missing. Peer support and education can really make a difference and that’s where the communities come into their own.

At Community Level Things Become Much More Viable

From car-pooling to renewable energy schemes, there are many benefits of working together as a community.

Interest in Cohousing is Growing

Jo says that interest in cohousing is increasing as people want better places to live, somewhere affordable, secure tenure but also to fulfil a growing need for mutuality in support.

Find out more about cohousing and check out two projects in the UK:

UK Cohousing Network

LILAC - Low Impact Living Affordable Community

Lancaster Cohousing

Short Interview with Robert Stern

Robert Stern is a filmmaker who wants to create a documentary on woodsman Ben Law. Ben was featured in one of the best-loved episodes of Grand Designs when he built his house in the woods in West Sussex. Now Robert wants to create a film about Ben Law’s Woodland Year and he running a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds for the project. While numerous broadcasters have approached Ben to try to do something like this he has turned them down. He feels confident that Robert would reflect his work in the woods as it is, not adding unnecessary glitz or reality show tendencies.

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