Abstract

The research was undertaken as part of a Knowledge Transfer Partnership, value £100k between Lincoln School of Architecture and Hill Holt Wood, a Social Enterprise. It was initiated to develop a range of innovative “off-grid” autonomous eco-buildings, starting with a Woodland Community Hall to contribute towards the process of educating the UK’s design and construction sectors in sustainable building practices. The design developed in conjunction with architects Simons Design, involved extensive research into material performance properties, use of materials in terms of their availability and buildability and the best combination of sustainable design principles against embodied and process energies. The carbon footprint is minimised by maximising the use of locally resourced materials and the building aspires to achieve the Association of Environmentally Conscious Builders (AECB) gold standard. Due to the originality and innovative nature of the design, additional external funding of £257.5k (£157.5k from Waste Resources Environmental Network (WREN) and £100k from Lincolnshire Enterprise) was secured towards the construction of the building. Simons Design won the “Business in the Community East Midlands Region Prohelp Award 2007” for their pro bono work through the Prohelp scheme for a number of projects, the most significant of which was the Woodland Community Hall. The practice now uses the design as a case study for incorporation of the innovative ideas and technology in much larger projects, nationally. North Kesteven District Council intend to use the project as an exemplar case study of innovative construction and low-carbon building management on a national level to promote the uptake of sustainable planning and development. One of the co-authors has been invited to Chile, in October 2007, to meet Chilean Government officials of the Ministerio de Viviendas y Urbanismo, Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, university researchers, architects and property developers to disseminate the results of this work.