Low Impact Building (PDF)

This guide to the designs, technologies and materials that
really make green buildings work will help architects, specifiers
and clients make informed choices, based on reliable technical
information.

Low Impact Building: Housing using Renewable Materials is
about changing the way we build houses to reduce their
'carbon' footprint and to minimise environmental
damage. One of the ways this can be done is by reducing the energy
and environmental impact of the materials and resources used to
construct buildings by choosing alternative products and systems.
In particular, we need to recognise the potential for using natural
and renewable construction materials as a way to reduce both carbon
emissions but also build in a more benign and healthy way. This
book is an account of some attempts to introduce this into
mainstream house construction and the problems and obstacles that
need to be overcome to gain wider acceptance of genuinely
environmental construction methods.

The book explores the nature of renewable materials in depth:
where do they come from, what are they made of and how do they get
into the construction supply chain? The difference between artisan
and self-build materials like earth and straw, and more highly
processed and manufactured products such as wood fibre insulation
boards is explored.

The author then gives an account of the Renewable House
Programme in the UK explaining how it came about and how it was
funded and managed by Government agencies. He analyses 12 case
studies of projects from the Programme, setting out the design and
methods of construction, buildability, environmental assessment
tools used in the design, performance in terms of energy, air
tightness, carbon footprint and post-occupancy issues.

The policy context of energy and sustainability in the UK,
Europe and the rest of the world is subjected to a
critical examination to show how this affects the use of natural
and renewable materials in the market for insulation and other
construction materials. The debate over energy usage and embodied
energy is discussed, as this is central to the reason why even many
environmentally progressive people ignore the case for natural and
renewable materials.

The book offers a discussion of building physics and science,
considering energy performance, moisture, durability, health and
similar issues. A critical evaluation of assessment,
accreditation and labelling of materials and green buildings is
central to this as well as a review of some of the key research in
the field.