Designing Timber issue 10 for online - Flipbook - Page 21
access every detail of every
product material that has
gone into the building – which
can inform maintenance and
later reuse. So it’s particularly
valuable for ADEPT, as each
component is reusable
and can be separately
demounted.”
Sustainable materials
and their advantages
with Circuland, a specialist in
supplying and maintaining
digital passports for materials.
They have embedded each
component of the ADEPT system
with a digital materials passport;
Circuland’s online platform
records all that information.
“They have a very user-friendly,
visual-based platform and
categorise all the components in
terms of their circularity,” David
tells us. “It allows a customer to
“Air quality is a particular
focus,” David states. “How
can we improve indoor air
quality using a breathable
thermal envelope with entirely
natural materials? Testing with
BRE found background VOCs
of 1/10th of the BREAAM
standard. And testing for
CO2 is even more interesting.
High indoor CO2 levels
reduce cognitive function
and increase fatigue but also
trigger mechanical ventilation
systems. If you can reduce
CO2 in a classroom then you
can reduce energy costs, plus
help children concentrate!
DESIGNING TIMBER
21
NOV/DEC 2025
Testing with academic partners
suggests that our hemp composite
insulation e昀昀ectively ‘bu昀昀ers’ CO2
in the air during use – reducing
peaks during periods of high
occupancy. This is something we’re
exploring further with monitoring
currently underway at Old Newton
School.”
For the internal 昀椀nish, a wood
wool board was used, which helps
to preserve a breathable envelope,
and has good acoustic properties;
a painted plywood wainscoting
provides the 昀椀nish at the bottom.
The roof uses large-format
cassettes made from an I-joist
system, with hemp wool insulation.
“The design was ultimately an
elegantly economical solution
to meet a simple brief: a single
room with no particularly complex
services,” Al re昀氀ects.
All in all, it’s a project that
abundantly demonstrates how
easily this timber modular system
can supply a cost-e昀昀ective
improvement to the standard
form of construction.
INSPIRATION
———— OLD NEWTON PRIMARY ————
