Back to nature

Choosing to build with natural and recyclable materials such as cob, straw, stone and sustainably harvested timber can reduce a home’s carbon footprint as well as improving its air quality. Here’s how it’s done

WORDS: DEBBIE JEFFERY

It’s a corker Environmentally friendly cork neatly clads this unique extension to a modest Victorian terraced house in south London. “Our budget was tight, but we told Nimtim Architects (nimtim.co.uk) that we ideally wanted an open-plan kitchen/dining/family room overlooking the garden,” explains homeowner Hat Margolies. Cork is made from the bark of the evergreen tree Quercus suber (commonly called the cork oak), which grows in the Mediterranean — most notably Portugal and the western area of Spain. With both thermal and soundproofing properties, it’s popularly used for cladding, flooring, and feature walls. Panels of thick EcoCork board by Ty-Mawr Lime Ltd were applied both inside and out of the new steel and blockwork extension and will weather to a silver/grey colour externally. Free from harmful chemicals, cork is a natural,…

You're reading a preview of

Homebuilding & Renovating (Digital) - 1 Issue, October 2024

DiscountMags is a licensed distributor (not a publisher) of the above content and Publication through Zinio LLC. Accordingly, we have no editorial control over the Publications. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers or other information or content expressed or made available by third parties, including those made in Publications offered on our website, are those of the respective author(s) or publisher(s) and not of DiscountMags. DiscountMags does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, truthfulness, or usefulness of all or any portion of any publication or any services or offers made by third parties, nor will we be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on information contained in any Publication, or your use of services offered, or your acceptance of any offers made through the Service or the Publications. For content removal requests, please contact Zinio.