BaleHaus@Bath in Bath, United Kingdom

June 15, 2010 Category: House, Residential

Located in United Kingdom, BaleHaus@Bath was designed by ModCell. Whilst in fairytales a straw house may be destroyed by the breath of a Big Bad Wolf, at the University of Bath a real straw house has managed to withstand test winds of up to 120mph. The BaleHaus@Bath was built by industrial partners ModCell as part of a major research project to scientifically assess the performance of straw as a sustainable building material. The research team, led by Professor Pete Walker, Director of the University’s BRE* Centre for Innovative Construction Materials, has been monitoring the house since October 2009 for thermal performance and humidity levels and has now tested the structure of the house for resisting winds up to 120mph.

The wind load was simulated using hydraulic jacks which pushed horizontally against the walls with a total force exceeding four tonnes, equivalent to the dynamic force of a hurricane. During the tests, the walls moved no more than four millimetres under peak loads, well within design requirements and as predicted.

The researchers will use this data to develop a theoretical computer model of the house to simulate how a three storey, or even higher, BaleHaus building would withstand such winds. The research team, including Dan Maskell and Dr Katharine Beadle, had previously conducted similar tests for racking strength on the individual wall panels. This is however the first time a whole house made of straw bale panels has been tested in this way.

The ModCell BaleHaus system consists of prefabricated panels infilled with straw bales and is carbon negative in manufacture. Due to the high insulating properties of the panels, the BaleHaus minimises additional heating requirements and could reduce heating bills in housing by up to 85 per cent, and CO2 emissions by 60 per cent. The research work on BaleHaus involves eight industrial partners and has been funded by the Technology Strategy Board and Carbon Connections.

BaleHaus@Bath by ModCell