A UK building contractor said it has completed the last of 25 homes built from hempcrete panels in one of the country’s most significant sustainable residential development projects.
The homes were built using Biond, a system of pre-formed panels developed by Greencore Construction, a legacy green builder in the UK.
According to Greencore, the nine smaller houses and 16 larger ones in the development, Springfield Meadows in Southmoor, Oxfordshire, are now all sold and occupied. The homes range in size from 102 sq. meters to 383 sq. meters, and prices range from £550,000 to £1.3 million (~€630,000/$630,000 to €1.5 million/$1.5 million).
Triodos Bank UK developed Springfield Meadows through private funds and bank financing.
‘Sustainability at the core’
All houses in the development have solar installations.
“We’re incredibly proud to build what we believe are the most sustainable homes in the country,” said James Pritchett, communications manager at Greencore Construction. “Springfield Meadows is an exemplary example of building beautiful homes with sustainability at their core.”
The houses meet performance standards under Passivhaus, a voluntary standard for buildings requiring little heating and cooling energy, and have received certification under One Planet Living. This international initiative advances construction projects that generate more power than they use and sequester more carbon than they emit.
WSP, New York-based engineering services consultants, also validated the project based on carbon footprint criteria by assessing one 300 sq. meter house. WSP has said the carbon footprint for a 100-square-meter house is -27.8 tons (better than carbon neutral) compared to +120 tons for a traditionally constructed house of the same size.
Greencore said some houses have storage batteries, and residents in the development could export excess energy back to the grid. Sensors and monitors are being deployed to record the homes’ sustainability performance.
Springfield Meadows is located in Southmoor, Oxfordshire.
Performance
Greencore’s hemp-lime panels offer nearly four times the thermal inertia of mineral wool panels. They contain hemp, lime, wood fibre, and a proprietary binder. A standard panel is 2.4×2.6 meters and 30cm in thickness.
Combining the hemp wall panels with triple-glazed windows provides high-performing acoustics. The builder used sustainably sourced timber for framing and low-cement-based concretes in the structures’ foundations.
According to Greencore, by engineering the hemp panels and other fundamental structural parts offsite, buildings can be made weather-tight within a few days and completed in six months. That means the projects can be kept on schedule and budget.
According to its website, Greencore sources its hemp hurd from East Yorkshire Hemp, which grows and processes up to 500 acres of hemp annually.
Biodiversity
The entire development was designed for maximum biodiversity.
While all homes at Springfield Meadows include private gardens, the overall development, designed to maximize biodiversity, also features common outdoor spaces, including a wildflower meadow, orchard, and pond conceived in partnership with the Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust (BBOWT), which will monitor the wildlife and biodiversity of the development for the next five years. All Springfield Meadows homeowners were given complimentary memberships to BBOWT when they moved into the development.
The homes feature solar collectors in the all-electric development, which includes an on-site electric car club and two Nissan Leafs that residents can rent.
Decarbonizing housing
“If we’re to reach the UK’s target of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, we urgently need our new homes to be of the highest energy efficiency and sustainability standards,” said Paul Nicoll, regional team manager at Triodos Bank. “By supporting projects such as Springfield Meadows, we’re helping to provide people with high-quality, community-focused homes while also working to decarbonize the housing sector.”
The Springfield Meadows project has won several awards, including the OxProp Best Residential Housing Development 2021 and Property Development of the Year at the 2021 Property Investor Awards.
Greencore is led by Ian Pritchett, managing director, who has over 30 years of experience in historic building repair and environmentally friendly construction. The company started building hemp-based buildings in 2014 and provided panels used in the iconic Marks & Spencer Cheshire Oaks project, an early example of using hemp in a large-scale project.
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It’s exciting to see a project like this leading the way in decarbonizing the housing sector.
Ian Pritchett’s experience in historic building repair and environmentally friendly construction is evident in this project.
Winning awards like OxProp Best Residential Housing Development 2021 is a testament to the quality and innovation of Springfield Meadows.
I hope more developments take inspiration from Springfield Meadows to help the UK reach its net-zero carbon emissions target by 2050.
The on-site electric car club and the availability of Nissan Leafs for residents to rent are great ideas for promoting sustainable transportation.
Using sustainably sourced timber and low-cement-based concretes shows a thorough commitment to environmental responsibility.
Greencore’s ability to make buildings weather-tight in a few days and complete them in six months is impressive.
The combination of hemp wall panels and triple-glazed windows must make these homes incredibly energy efficient and quiet.
It’s incredible that a 100-square-meter house can have a carbon footprint of -27.8 tons with hempcrete construction.
Providing homeowners with complimentary memberships to the Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust is a great initiative!
The biodiversity focus at Springfield Meadows is fantastic. The wildflower meadow, orchard, and pond are wonderful additions!
I appreciate the integration of solar panels and the ability for residents to export excess energy back to the grid.
The fact that these homes meet Passivhaus standards and are certified under One Planet Living is a huge achievement!
It’s inspiring to see homes built with such a strong commitment to sustainability and energy efficiency.
Using hemp-lime panels is a brilliant idea. The thermal and acoustic benefits are impressive!
Springfield Meadows sounds like an incredible development. I love the focus on sustainability and biodiversity!
It’s amazing to see such a significant project using hempcrete panels. Greencore Construction is definitely paving the way for sustainable building practices!