Designing Timber issue 10 for online - Flipbook - Page 11
———— IN BRIEF ————
Making the most of what's to hand
All photographs
As much material as possible was retained from
existing, semi-derelict buildings, with concrete waste
from the existing slabs used to form rubble trench
foundations, and the clay extracted to dig them used
as plaster for the internal walls.
© Luke O'Donovan
Everyone pitching in
The client organisations - the Ubele Initiative,
OrganicLea and BlackRootz, a multigenerational,
Black-led growers’ enterprise and volunteers were
involved throughout the build process. They learned
about the construction materials and techniques,
and so gained the skills to look after their building
in use.
“The buildings are inherently rooted in place and low
in embodied carbon,” says project architect Paloma
Gormley from Material Cultures.
DESIGNING TIMBER
IN BRIEF
“Plant-based materials sequester and store carbon
and, together with minerals such as clay, can
ultimately be returned to the ground at the end of
their life.”
11
NOV/DEC 2025
