 | | Not just a set of technical drawings now |
It keeps on getting better. When last I blogged I had been to see the straw cladding panels coming together in Easingwold and was singing the praises of straw to the good people of Hradec Kralové in the Czech Republic. Now it’s happened, the panels are arriving in York! On Wednesday, I spent the afternoon at the ecoDepot, at the end of James Street, watching a giant crane lifting panels and gently lowering them into place along the north elevation of the upper floor of the building. Enjoying the sun and wind with me were a film crew from Bristol and a bunch of people who had come to see this technology that they are hoping to see used on their own building down south. Together we walked upstairs onto the second floor of a building that weeks ago was only a set of wooden uprights and before that, just a set of plans and technical drawings.  | | Christian gets a feel for the walls... |
(Like a plonker, I forgot to take my camera on Wednesday so I took these today. Not as much sun and another huge chunk of wall has gone in place.) It is a fabulous feeling, like stepping into a living map. Makes you wish you were an architect, or a construction company, when a building is coming to life. There was a real buzz today as the panels were lifted high into the air then swung slowly round and lowered and teased into place, delicately negotiating the glulam wooden frame of the building before coming to rest. In just a few hours a wall existed, as if it always had. One of the men responsible for applying the finishing coat of rendering was there, sizing up the task ahead, enthusiastically pointing out that using straw and render in this way would create a building that would breathe. Unlike so many modern buildings that trap the damp within their walls, the ecoDepot will allow moisture to escape. Strange that this new way of building, these super insulating walls that will save a fortune on energy bills are close cousins of the wattle and daub found on some of the city’s oldest buildings. | "we walked upstairs onto the second floor of a building that weeks ago was only a set of wooden uprights and before that, just a set of plans..." | |
The funny thing is that even rocket science isn’t rocket science anymore. Eventually photovoltaic cells will be used to create the southern elevation of the roof. High technology with a vengeance, but those pv cells will make a major contribution to the energy requirements of the building because the energy requirements will be so low, as a direct result of the use of straw cladding panels that will dramatically improve the overall energy efficiency of the building. High tech meets Astérix? Or should that be high tech meets the Vikings? Did I previously explain the glulam frame of this building? Glulam wood is itself another great lesson in sustainability. The wooden frame is made up of the offcuts of the timber industry. When sawmills are cutting timber to make planks they inevitably have to persuade round trees to produce rectilinear planks. The result is a great deal of wasted wood. Not anymore. All the offcuts are saved and glued together to make glulam. So our wooden frame is made from a resource that used to be thrown away.  | | Project manager, Paul Cunningham |
I am hopeful that the next week should see a number of Open Days advertised to enable you and planners, architects, developers, and the public to see the remaining straw panels put in place. Watch this space and local media over the coming days. For those wondering what the Czechs in blog 5 made of the ecoDepot – they loved it. I also spoke with a Bulgarian man, Zdravko, who was keen to learn more. Paul Cunningham, Mowlem’s project manager for the ecoDepot tells me today that there are loads of people in the construction industry talking about this building. News travels fast. Oh, and a late item of news. As of today, yours truly becomes the City of York’s Energy Champion. I am hugely looking forward to coming up with new ideas to help our city tackle reducing its contribution to Climate Change. Next on the list, reducing the fortune we spend on street lighting. But that’s another story... Christian, 25/5/06 | 
