The Journey.

Introduction

The goal of this journey is to Create a Home Grown House, as carbon neutral and as low-carbon footprint as possible.  I want to build with what I have on the site, in a scale and manner which would require no or minimal machinery input, and to prove to myself and to others, that building sustainably and intuitively doesn’t have to cost the earth, but it can be built using it.

Since an essay on Bill Dunsters’ BedZed in my 1^st year of Undergraduate studies, I have been highly interested in all forms of sustainable and zero-carbon design.

By the year 2016, all homes should be zero carbon, an ambitious plan set out by the UK government.  People may think this is completely unobtainable.  But it is very much within reach. 

When I first started initially thinking about zero carbon and low energy housing, I felt that it was all just a sales gimmick, the new trend in construction.  I felt like clients were getting fooled into thinking that if they bought an air-source heat pump or installed rainwater collectors then they would be single-handedly combating climate change.

But when all was put into practice, I realised that the key is off-setting.  It is all good and well building with rammed earth to be low-carbon, but how does that earth get there? If it is off-site then you need trucks to deliver it, and if it is on-site then you need JCBs to dig it up.   This energy used in transportation needs to then be off-set by your building. 

I still find it comical seeing some products available on the market labelled carbon neutral, made in China! Think of the carbon footprint which that product has already created before it has even reached the building site.
That is one of the disadvantages of technology, it needs to be powered, transported and prepared.

All we need is shelter, but the modern world has us having bespoke kitchens and bathrooms, safe electrics and plumbing, pvc worktops and laminate doors. Not exactly your natural home.  Natural homes in modern terms I think relates more to the materials used, especially in the finishes, lots of wood, beautiful earth and lime plasters, wood ceilings and trims, all of course incorporated tastefully in a code approved structure.

There are many instances now where people are taking building their own, ideal homes into their own hands, shows like Grand Designs and self builders are adapting to their surroundings to become more self-sufficient, something which I think all homes should try a hand at.