This new contemporary house is currently being fabricated in the factory and the site is being prepared for the glulam frame delivery in 2 weeks time.

Watch this space for construction photos.

The ecofab system is proving very versatile with a contemporary flat roof house, a traditional vernacular cottage within a Conservation Area and also a clifftop modern house overlooking Perranporth Beach.

Plen an Gwarry is a Cornsih ampitheatre where mystery plays were staged, it is also an outdoor meeting place, sports arena, and may have had some religious significance related to the staging of festivals.

Funding has just been confirmed for a new ecofab Theatrical Centre which will accommodate public displays, meetings, a place for performers and a store facility for festivals.  The building will be completed in 2013. 

Following the awards ceremony at Canary Wharf this morning we were delighted to come away with a GOLD award for Environmental Best Practice in the Built Environment at the annual Green Apple Awards.  The Brambles has now won several prestigious awards and has been recognised for its sustainable design credentials as well as value for money.

Brambles was Highly Commended in the Design and Innovation category at this years SW RICS Awards.

The judges' comments were "The Brambles construction project demonstrates an efficient quality controlled and accurate building system that can reach levels of insulation and air tightness consistent with standards such as Passivhaus and the Code for Sustainable Homes Level 6".

We are hoping for a repeat of last year's success at the SW LABC Awards being held in Torquay on 8th June.  We are very excited that Budehaven Day Nursery has made the finals and is shortlisted within multiple categories, including Best Educational Building, Best Technical Design and Best Sustainable Design.

Look out for future news to find out if we win!

The Brambles Nursery & Children’s Centre in St.Just has won another prestigious award for environmental best practice in the built environment.  The National Green Apple Awards is recognised as one of the leading International awards events, with winners attending from all around the world.

We don't yet know what we have won and the winners will be announced at the East Wintergarden, Canary Wharf, London on Monday, 25 June, 2012.

The Curtilage Listed Mowhay barn conversion with new partially earth bermed swimming pool, bedrooms, ancillary rooms and courtyard is well under way.  Carpenter Oak supplied & installed  the oak frame.

Although not incorporating ecofab's pre-fabricated strawbale panels it will be super insulated (up to 500mm of insulation) with earth wool.  It will also feature locally grown timber, MVHR, triple glazing and a large sedum roof.

The Curtilage Listed Mowhay Conversion and Swimming Pool started on site a few months ago.  Look out for construction photos over the coming months.

Planning permission is sought for the Contemporary Countryside House and we are awaiting the planning decision for the Low Energy Lodges.

ECOFAB & ARCO2 win Cornwall Sustainability Award 2011 for Sustainable Construction - New Build sponsored by Cornwall Sustainable Building Trust - Winner for The Brambles Nursery & Children's Centre

As you can see, Ecofab now has a brand new look to it's website.  We've stripped the site down to look more modular so it's quicker & easier to use, similar to the ARCO2 website.  Check back here for more news in the not so distant future.

The Brambles Nursery & Children’s Centre in St.Just won the Best Sustainable Development category on Friday night at the annual SW LABC Awards held in Torquay. ARCO2 Ltd. and ecofab will now go on to the national finals held in London later in the year. The pre-fabricated strawbale building was constructed by ecofab and accommodates a Nursery for 40 children, toy library, community room/after school facility for 20 children and an office for hot desking.

Trelander & St. Clements Community Hall in Truro added to their many awards by winning a Bronze Green Apple award at Westminster University in London. The strawbale building consists of a Family Services Children’s Centre, holding regular community events such as youth club, keep fit, one off parties and private functions. At the other end is a large community hall constructed by ecofab.

Ecofab, the strawbale pre-fab system designed by ARCO₂ has been featured in February's Grand Designs magazine.

We erected a fully working example of one of our modular designs at the show itself from which we delivered our services. The straw bale & wool insulated stand showed detailed examples of heating, fixings and building materials whilst offering potential customers a chance to see some of our featured building designs on video & wall mounted photos.

Following the success of the first phase of this award winning community led project in autumn 2008, funding was secured for a second phase - the addition of a multi-use hall. The completed building envelope scored a very low air leakage rate of 1.7m3/m2/hr @ 50 Pascals, achieved through expert attention to design detail and careful control of factory and site construction. The hall will open in May 2010.

Ecofab was recently visited by a group of Danish strawbale builders and designers who appeared impressed with the system. One of the group is currently studying at Bath University and has had the opportunity to explore the Modcell System; another prefabricated system using straw within construction. It has been productive to discuss our system with oversees visitors and further exchange of ideas and approach was planned in the future.

Children from the current Nanstallon Pre-School visited the factory today to see their new school building being built.  They handled raw materials such as straw and sheep's wool to get an idea of how their classroom will be put together.

Martin and Sion presented and exhibits have been self build exhibition held at the Eden Project in Cornwall. Martin also provided a series of seminars on sustainable design and construction as part of this event.

Ecofab joined ARCO₂ at futurebuild + ecobuild in London in March (left). Sion Pierce and Martin Penk represented the practice for the 3 day event and the rest of the office joined them for 1 day to offer their expertise and tour the event.

The World Wildlife Fund for Nature produced 'Eco Debt', a 3-part online video series looking at eco-builds & sustainable living. Part 2 of the video features a segment on our recently completed House at West Cornwall. Skip about 4 minutes into the video on the left if you wish to see the segment.

You can watch the video Here on youtube