House with a sustainable difference

A HOUSE with a difference has been built in Scotland which uses grassed turf to insulate the roof, straw bales to insulate the walls and Scottish timber almost everywhere in between.

Part of a local regeneration project led by Fife Council, the new building is serving as an example of ‘low-carbon’ construction techniques that is also helping to train five young joinery apprentices in sustainable construction techniques.

The building, in Dunfermline, features a post-and-beam frame of oak and Douglas fir timber, Sitka spruce in the roof, walls and floor joists, and larch for the external wall cladding.

It is being built by the charity Community Self-Build Scotland (CSBS) and will house offices for CSBS itself and local community organisations or small businesses.

CSBS has calculated that by maximising the use of ‘carbon-neutral’ materials such as wood and straw the building will generate 25% less carbon-based greenhouse gas emissions than a similar-sized building made of traditional materials such as brick and concrete.