| June 2010 |
Ecofab exhibit stand at Royal Cornwall Show |
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We errected a fully working example of one of our modular designs at the show itself from which we delivered our services.
The stawbale & 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.
The weather for the 3 days was great and we met many interested parties so expect to see us again next year for another week.
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| May 2010 |
Three more new schemes submitted for planning |
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| April 2010 |
Trelander Community Hall Phase 2 almost complete |
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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. A bespoke glu-lam timber portal frame free spans the width of the hall into which the straw and wool filled pre-fabricated ecofab modules are fixed.
The building has a sedum roof, green oak cladding, and triple glazed high level windows some of which are motorised allowing controlled ventilation and day lighting. Despite the added complexity of connecting to an existing building the ecofab system proved to be adaptable and flexible in tackling this new building type.
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.
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| Mar 2010 |
Work completed at Nanstallon Pre-School |
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Work is now complete on the Pre-School building in Nanstallon. The building was officially opened on 20th March 2009 and the children are settling into their new classroom facility well.
The building has been designed with such future possibilities in mind with installation of cable and trunking in order to make retro fitting of such panels more easy.
The minimal heat load is met using a small 5kw output heat pump supplying an underfloor system. (no mains gas available). We are aiming for an air tightness of 1 or less for this project but recognise the ambitiousness of this target. The building is finished as usual with timber from local forests and supports areas of biodiverse roofs.
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| Nov 2009 |
New Pre-School commssions on the horizon |
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ECOFAB is awaiting planning decisions on two further schemes. The first is a 20 place preschool in Weymouth which represents a new and exciting design on, what is again, a restricted site. Images of this are available in our works in progress section.
The second building is another preschool at Whitstone near Bude. Again this building is located on a restricted the rural site adjacent to the Whitstone Primary School. Both projects are due for decisions in early December.
A further larger scheme involving the provision of a new children's centre and nursery in St just was recently given planning consent. However, we await confirmation from the County Council prior to commencement of any works.
Follwong on from these in September and October, eco-fab prepared more than half a dozen more feasibility studies and provided detailed priced schemes for both preschools and nurseries throughout Cornwall. Each organisation has placed bids for funding through the early years grant and we hope to hear the results of such bids in the near future.
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| Feb 2010 |
Ecofab visited by Danish stawbale builders |
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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. |
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Subsequently we were delighted to receive a visit from Peter Jensen who hailed from Freeland Ecotown in Denmark. Peter stayed for over 6 weeks working on a number of schemes including the offsite and onsite works for the Mulberry Bush Preschool in Weymouth and Nanstallon Preschool. Peter delivered a lunchtime seminar on Ecologically sensitive building design to the team bringing it home how far advanced building technology is in Denmark as compared to the UK. |
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| Nov 2009 |
Work completed at Swanage Pre-School |
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Prefabrication of panels and frame together with groundworks and other enabling works began in late July 2009 with a completion date of the 13th of November 2009.
The building was completed and handed over on the 13th of November 2009.
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The building achieved an air permeability test result of 1.98 m3/m2 @ 50pa. This reading was done prior to internal lining or finishing but after all service protrusions were made. This early assessment of their permeability was useful in highlighting, albeit few, areas of weakness and represented a reasonable result with no remedial work undertaken.
The building is to be heated using a small mains gas Broag condensing combination boiler, efficiently delivering heat to an underfloor system. The as built S-BEM is being completed and the building is likely to receive an ‘A’ rating for its energy performance certificate.
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A building summary including materials used can be found in the projects section. |
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| Oct 2009 |
New commission for Nanstallon Pre-School |
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On hearing that the local playgroup at Nanstallon required new accommodation and were proposing to purchase a prefabricated, temporary building, the Directors of ARCO2 and eco-fab Ltd offered to provide a taste of an alternative by preparing designs and detailed costings of a bespoke preschool building. The resulting proposals so impressed the committee that they unanimously agreed to commission eco-fab Ltd to undertake the works following cost comparisons with other leading prefabricated, portable building suppliers.
The eco-fab proposals, despite being entirely unique, site-specific, organic and substantially more sustainable were found to be more affordable by up to £4000 than the alternative portable buildings.
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Planning was subsequently achieved and off-site production and on site enabling works were commenced at the beginning of October 2009. This building has the benefit of an open rural site, excellent southerly aspect and it is hoped that bids for grant funding for PV panels will be successful in due course.The building is due to be complete by the middle of January 2010.
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A building summary including materials used can be found in the projects section. |
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| June 2009 |
Ecofab present exhibits around Cornwall |
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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. |
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Martin Penk completed a further talk to the Royal Institute of Town Planners at a regional conference held at the Maritime Museum Falmouth. His subject matter included a summary of the principle of ‘one planet living’ along with general principles of sustainable design and included a short slideshow of some of eco-fab's and ARCO2’s latest project s to illustrate core principles of sustainable design and construction. |
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Sion Pearce and Nick Donaldson attended a day training at the Eden project which focused on the overwhelming importance of the retrofitting sustainability into existing building stock. Both Sion and Nick have been researching Passivhaus and it is hoped that Nick will take advantage of specific training in this area in the near future. |
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| Sept 2009 |
Alan Hughes completes Part 2 of Diploma |
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Alan Hughes completed his second part diploma in his architectural training this summer and is now back with the team full-time. Alan undertook considerable study in sustainable engineering and building analysis within the course. |
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| May 2009 |
RICS awards recognize the achievements of eco-fab with the first three buildings. |
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Ecofab have been given 3 awards by the RICS acknowledging their achievements with the first 3 buildings they've completed. These buildings are Bosvigo Children's Centre in Truro, Corfe Castle Pre-School in Dorset and Swanage Pre-School in also in Dorset. |
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