eco-classrooms - architect designed sustainable teaching spaces

We pride ourselves on our commitment and environmentally friendly approach to design and timber frame construction. All the timber is sourced from properly managed forests and the utmost care is taken when selecting products, with regards to their impact on the environment.

 

The frames are manufactured to the highest specifications using advanced methods and the latest equipment. Factory fabrication means that our skilled workers are able to assemble large parts of the structure before it reaches the site, ensuring that the timber structure can be erected quickly and efficiently on site, reducing costs and build time.


The Building

Timber is the most environmental building Material. Why?

Timber is a totally renewable resource; European softwood forests are growing by over
250 million m3 every year.

Waste efficient; the parts of the logs that are not used for timber are used for paper, chipboards, energy and many other applications.

Once used, the timber can then be recycled or biodegraded.

So there really is no more environmentally friendly way to build!

Thermal Performance

The building’s construction achieves the following elemental ‘U’ values which are more than twice the standard that legislation currently requires:

Suspended ground floor: 0.088 WM2K.                         (Building Regulations require 0.25 WM2K)
External walls: 0.114 W/M2K.                                           (Building Regulations require 0.35 WM2K)
Flat roof with insulation: 0.088 WM2K.                           (Building Regulations require 0.25 WM2K)
Aluminium doors / windows: 1.800 W/M2K.


Environmental
When, eventually, the insulation is removed from a building, it can be recycled again or disposed of safely, without creating toxic waste or biodegradability problems.

Manufactured from 100% recycled waste newspaper, the insulation has extremely low embodied energy, requiring far less energy to produce than any other mainstream insulation material.

It has zero ODP (Ozone Depletion Potential). It does not contain any added formaldehyde and is free from CFCs, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) or other toxic substances,and by reducing heating demand, it also plays a major part in reducing household CO 2 emissions.
When, eventually, the insulation is removed from a building, it can be recycled again or disposed of safely, without creating toxic waste or biodegradability problems

Fire Performance


In an official fire test conducted by Chiltern International, on a loadbearing Breathing Wall panel, the fire resistance properties saw the panel exceed 71 minutes when exposed to temperatures of up to almost 1000ºC. Throughout the test the external face of the Breathing Wall panel remained at a cool 17ºC.

The building insulation is extremely resistant to fire. Its remarkable performance is achieved through the addition of simple inorganic salts, enabling it to comfortably meet the fire protection standards required for timber-frame construction and conventional lofts.