Age-old construction practices stand as foundation for the BaleHaus@Bath by the University of Bath. The project was undertaken specially to assess the performance of straw and hemp as a sustainable building material. Last July we presented to you the plan of this ingenious project and today the building stands against the harsh weather. Built by industrial partners ModCell, the structure made from straw involves safe and efficient structural design.
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The ModCell BaleHaus system merges prefabricated panels with straw bales to give a carbon free construction. The panels offer high insulation, resulting in bringing down the 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 team at the University has been monitoring the house for thermal performance and humidity level since October 2009 and has recently tested it for withstanding winds up to 120mph.
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For the research what the team did was, it simulated a wind load using hydraulic jacks that pushed horizontally against the walls. The force with which the entire action took place was over four tonnes, which is equivalent to the dynamic force of a hurricane. It was found that the even under peak loads the walls did not move more than four millimeters. All this data will be used to design a theoretical computer model of the house to show the way a three storey, or even higher, BaleHaus building would withstand winds of such high intensity.
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