last
updated 26th January 06
by 4 ecotips.com
A model of sustainable living
in an urban environment
When you think of an award winning
structure, a Straw House in Islington,
North London, wouldn't be the first
thing to come to mind. But, as an
environmentally friendly construction,
and the first of its kind in the UK,
the architects were faced with a number
of challenges. One such challenge
was to source an energy efficient
heating system suited to the structure
of the Straw House. Osma Underfloor
Heating was the choice.
The Straw House is designed, owned
and occupied by architects Jeremy
Till and Sarah Wigglesworth, and was
constructed utilising materials chosen
for their low embodied energy, such
as sand bags and strawbales. The building
was highly experimental and based
on extensive research of new materials
and construction techniques.
Sarah Wigglesworth describes the
house as: "providing a model
of sustainable living in an urban
environment', whilst promoting a spatial
and relaxing environment within which
to live and work.
Sarah continues: "The Straw
House is just as much an office space
as it is a home and all the components
of the house from the steel structure
to the interior aspects were chosen
to reflect this."
An underfloor heating system was
the obvious solution, providing benefits
over radiators, with a much more even
and comfortable heating effect whilst
being completely unobtrusive. It was,
in fact, Sarah Wigglesworth who made
the initial contact with Osma Underfloor
Heating in her quest to find an energy
efficient and safe heating solution
for the Straw House.
Underfloor heating systems operate
through the transfer of heat by natural
radiation from a surface which needs
to be only slightly warmer than the
room temperature. The floor is normally
warmed to 26-29° which is about
the same temperature as the palm of
your hand.
The architecture and design of the
Straw House provides an innovative
twist to the Islington landscape,
and internally the building is equally
planned and thought out, utilising
space for the utmost effect. Each
room has been carefully planned with
the office located to close to the
street, fronting onto the railway
line and the house is at the back.
In order to reduce noise levels, the
office is protected externally with
sandbag cladding.
By means of a bespoke service, each
of the rooms is fitted with an Osma
Underfloor Heating system to complement
the interior by way of shape and structure
of the property.
The award winning Straw House development
is a perfect example of how innovation
and design go hand in hand and how
the simpler aspects of a development
can prove to be instrumental in the
overall look and feel of a building.
More details about Osma Underfloor
Heating can be found at www.wavin.com
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