Solid Cork Building Envelope

Driven by simplicity and sustainability, the project aims to research and develop the viability of a single-layer

high-performance building envelope system for use across the construction sector, and for housing

development and primary education projects in particular. As a radically simple alternative to the complexity of

multi-layered forms of construction, the proposed low-impact building system will be made almost entirely

from a solid, load-bearing bio-renewable material. Developed as a prefabricated dry-joint construction kit, the

system would facilitate simple on-site assembly as well as disassembly for re-use or reycling at the end of the

building life. The project will incorporate material laboratory tests, environmental monitoring of a trial

structure, and post-occupancy evaluation of a prototype house constructed to UK Building Regulations. The

dissemination of these outputs will include articles, seminars, workshops and presentations at relevant trade

fairs such as Ecobuild. A market appraisal will assess the proposed system in relation to routes to market, with

a view to accessing the market with a new widely-applicable carbon-negative building system.