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    Low Impact Woodland House

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    ABHISH
    This document summarizes a low impact woodland house built in Wales by Simon Dale and his father-in-law. They constructed the house themselves over 4 months with help from friends and passersby, spending an estimated £3000. The house is dug into a hillside for shelter and low visual impact, using local and recycled materials like stone, mud, oak wood, and straw bales. It has solar panels, collects rainwater, and uses a wood burner for heating, demonstrating Simon's goal of living harmoniously with nature.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    Low Impact Woodland House

    Uploaded by

    ABHISH
    68 views7 pages
    This document summarizes a low impact woodland house built in Wales by Simon Dale and his father-in-law. They constructed the house themselves over 4 months with help from friends and passersby, spending an estimated £3000. The house is dug into a hillside for shelter and low visual impact, using local and recycled materials like stone, mud, oak wood, and straw bales. It has solar panels, collects rainwater, and uses a wood burner for heating, demonstrating Simon's goal of living harmoniously with nature.

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    Low impact woodland house

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    This document summarizes a low impact woodland house built in Wales by Simon Dale and his father-in-law. They constructed the house themselves over 4 months with help from friends and passersby, spending an estimated £3000. The house is dug into a hillside for shelter and low visual impact, using local and recycled materials like stone, mud, oak wood, and straw bales. It has solar panels, collects rainwater, and uses a wood burner for heating, demonstrating Simon's goal of living harmoniously with nature.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    68 views7 pages

    Low Impact Woodland House

    Uploaded by

    ABHISH
    This document summarizes a low impact woodland house built in Wales by Simon Dale and his father-in-law. They constructed the house themselves over 4 months with help from friends and passersby, spending an estimated £3000. The house is dug into a hillside for shelter and low visual impact, using local and recycled materials like stone, mud, oak wood, and straw bales. It has solar panels, collects rainwater, and uses a wood burner for heating, demonstrating Simon's goal of living harmoniously with nature.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 7

    Low impact woodland house (Wales, UK)

    Location: Wales, UK

    Date: unknown

    Architect: Simon Dale

    Purpose: private house

    More info: From the author: “You are looking at pictures of a house I built for our family in
    Wales. It was built by myself and my father in law with help from passers by and visiting
    friends. 4 months after starting we were moved in and cosy. I estimate 1000-1500 man hours and
    £3000 put in to this point. Not really so much in house buying terms (roughly £60/sq m
    excluding labour).”

    “The house was built with maximum regard for the environment and by reciprocation gives us a
    unique opportunity to live close to nature.” he says.

    This building is one part of a low-impact or permaculture approach to life. This sort of life is
    about living in harmony with both the natural world and ourselves, doing things simply and
    using appropriate levels of technology.

    When asked why he is doing this, he gave this answer: “ It’s fun. Living your own life, in your
    own way is rewarding. Following our dreams keeps our souls alive.”
    Bibliotheca Alexandrina (Egypt)
    Location: El Shatby, Alexandria, Egypt

    Date: 1998

    Architect: Snohetta/Hamza Consortium

    Purpose: Library

    More info: The New Library of Alexandria is dedicated to recapture the spirit of openness and
    scholarship of the original Bibliotheca Alexandrina. It is much more than a library. It contains:
    three Museums, a planetarium, seven academic research centers, nine permanent exhibitions,
    hosts many institutions and you can find many other things in there. This vast complex is 
    receiving more than 800,000 visitors a year.
    Image credits: Bibliotheca Alexandrina
    Image credits: Gérard Ducher
    (image credits: Simon)

    Some key points of the design and construction:

     Dug into hillside for low visual impact and shelter


     Stone and mud from diggings used for retaining walls, foundations etc.
     Frame of oak thinnings (spare wood) from surrounding woodland
     Reciprocal roof rafters are structurally and aesthaetically fantastic and very easy to do
     Straw bales in floor, walls and roof for super-insulation and easy building
     Plastic sheet and mud/turf roof for low impact and ease
     Lime plaster on walls is breathable and low energy to manufacture (compared to cement)
     Reclaimed (scrap) wood for floors and fittings
     Anything you could possibly want is in a rubbish pile somewhere (windows, burner,
    plumbing, wiring…)
     Woodburner for heating - renewable and locally plentiful
     Flue goes through big stone/plaster lump to retain and slowly release heat
     Fridge is cooled by air coming underground through foundations
     Skylight in roof lets in natural feeling light
     Solar panels for lighting, music and computing
     Water by gravity from nearby spring
     Compost toilet
     Roof water collects in pond for garden etc.

    Main tools used: chainsaw, hammer and 1 inch chisel, little else really. Oh and by the way I am
    not a builder or carpenter, my experience is only having a go at one similar house 2yrs before
    and a bit of mucking around inbetween. This kind of building is accessible to anyone. My main
    relevant skills were being able bodied, having self belief and perseverence and a mate or two to
    give a lift now and again.

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