Mark Waghorn

Using Wood in Construction as a significant Greenhouse Gas Removal Mechanism - Woodknowledge Wales A report summarising Home-Grown Homes research undertaken by Woodknowledge Wales, the BioComposites Centre and the ASBP that seeks to redefine the role of timber and other biogenic materials in constr...

“Using Wood in Construction as a significant Greenhouse Gas Removal Mechanism.”

Important new report from @woodknowledgewales.bsky.social @biocomposites-c.bsky.social @asbpuk.bsky.social

woodknowledge.wales/using-wood-i...

Interesting floor plan, but I’m not sure if all those diagonals help the layout

This downpayment on the next Affordable Housing Programme is great news for getting spades in the ground asap - to deliver the social homes the country desperately needs. Good now, good sign: fingers still crossed for a transformative Spending Review for social housing

Michael Burchert (@michaelburchert.bsky.social) - Bluesky User Insights Michael Burchert (@michaelburchert.bsky.social) - Bluesky User Insights

TBH it feels a little slow at times here, given the importance of my topic #regenerativeconstruction, especially when you think about the alternative, right? But the Bluesky stats present a brighter picture, thank you all for pushing this. blue.facts.dev/profile/mich...

A line graph showing atmospheric CO2 levels at Mauna Loa Observatory from 1955 to 2025. The y-axis represents CO2 mole fraction in parts per million (ppm), ranging from 320 to 420 ppm, while the x-axis is years.

The most iconic figure in the environmental sciences is the Keeling Curve, the CO₂ record from Mauna Loa, Hawaii.

@noaa.gov had a wonderful site where you could visualize and download these data, and now it's just gone. These data belong to us and we should not let this happen!

Corridor showing plastered straw and timber constuction with linoleum floor, wood wool acoustic ceiling

red vented timber clad facade with round wood holding up the roof overhang, wood wool magnesite acoustic ceiling

I think it is normal to build with healthy and biodegradable materials long lasting buildings for our children. How about you?
Extension and rehabilitation of a straw-built nursery school in Nomain, France #strawhouse #strawbuilding
Kontext Architectes
kontext-architectes.fr/project/exte...

Home truths: the only thing Labour is building is a bigger, more dysfunctional housing market | George Monbiot Private developers offer politicians a simple solution for bulldozing through this crisis – build more. But it won’t work, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot

Labour's simplemindedness will be its downfall - and ours. You can't build and bulldoze your way out of the housing crisis. Unless you also change the system, you'll still leave millions without decent homes. My column today explains why.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Move fast and make things. Nicholas Boys Smith explains what councils, particularly rural councils with greenbelt, need to do and do fast to avoid the risk of ugly and ill-located ‘housing by appeal’
www.createstreets.com/move-fast-an...

The 1.5 million-home question: Does the government’s planning reform programme add up? Ministers unleashed a barrage of planning reforms in the dying days of 2024. Joey Gardiner asks if these can give the industry the boost it needs to get anywhere close to the government's ambitious ho...

Pleased to be quoted in this article on NPPF by Joey Gardiner for @BuildingNews.
My focus is on the new approach to applications for housing on Grey Belt - affordable housing at 15% above local target. Much improved on Draft NPPF IMHO.
www.building.co.uk/features/the...

just "8% of (homes permitted) were on smaller new build projects of up to nine units including self-build ... and from the conversion of non-residential properties."

Good time to re-share illustration from Bacon Review showing Eng planning has become geared to large scale builders' development

New HBF housing pipeline report out today
www.hbf.co.uk/policy/polic...

Highest #strawhouse wooden frame build just started in Hylle, Malmö by Kaminsky.se with ecococon.eu prefabricated #straw modules. This is rad.
#rapidlyrenewablematerial #holzbau #CO2storage #bauwende
Please copy and paste and see if your outdated national regulations will implode.

UK ministers warned housing crisis puts plans for NHS and economy at risk Damning report reveals million in England are living in poor-quality housing that threatens their health

Ministers have been warned that efforts to save the NHS and grow the economy will fail unless they tackle the housing crisis, as a damning report reveals millions of people are living in substandard homes that risk worsening their health.
#ukhousing #urbanplanning
www.theguardian.com/society/2024...

Yimbys hear this – simply building more homes won’t solve our housing crisis | Phineas Harper The ‘yes in my back yard’ voices are getting louder, but housebuilding quality is more important than quantity, says writer and curator Phineas Harper

'if we build with oil- and cement-based materials and no mechanism to guarantee affordability, we risk burning through our carbon budget and locking in car dependency, while failing to make housing cheaper for anyone' 💯

we need ambition and imagination

The facts about a planet facing climate disaster are clear. Why won’t this Labour government face them? | Jeremy Corbyn Labour seems gripped by a form of denialism. The danger is real and incremental change won’t avert it, says Jeremy Corbyn, independent MP for Islington North

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

New council powers to boost housebuilding and infrastructure Thousands more homes across the country will be delivered quicker and more easily thanks to new planning changes announced today.

New council powers to boost housebuilding and infrastructure
Thousands more homes across the country will be delivered quicker and more easily thanks to new planning changes announced yesterday
#ukhousing #housebuilding #socialhousing #affordablehousing #urbanplanning
www.gov.uk/government/n...

IndiNature – Natural fibre construction insulation Natural fibre construction insulation. Taking care of your planet, your health and your bills. Made from traditional local crops and new biotech materials.

UK grown hemp fibre insulation manufactured by www.indinature.co available from a number of suppliers. I have specified it in my builds and it is a delight to work with

Councils will be forced to build homes to fix England’s housing crisis, says Starmer Binding targets will compel authorities to build 370,000 homes a year with government to say how many per area

Councils will be forced to build homes to fix England’s housing crisis
Binding targets will compel authorities to build 370,000 homes a year with government to say how many per area

#ukhousing #urbanplanning
www.theguardian.com/society/2024...

The five-minute city: inside Denmark’s revolutionary neighbourhood While ambitious urban planners try to make 15-minute cities a reality, the Nordhavn district of Copenhagen has gone one better. What’s life like when everything you need is just a stroll away?

“The five-minute city: inside Denmark’s revolutionary neighbourhood

What’s life like when everything you need is just a stroll away?”

Design & planning make new places environmentally & socially sustainable.. not property markets & land speculation
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

I'm in the 'build more houses' camp. But it's still worth pointing out that real house prices peaked in 2007, which was also the time when household debt relative to income peaked. Supply is a problem, but it's access to credit and willingness to borrow that's bid up the value of the housing stock.

The @ONS data today illustrates why more housebuilding is so desperately needed www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopula...

Yes that works. Second bedroom
Seems a bit compromised by the stair, which the plan doesn’t show. What outdoor amenity space do the first floor flats have access to?

Construction work soon to start on Swansea's 'living building' at former Oxford Street Woolworths site - Swansea Bay News With main construction work due to start in the coming weeks, city leaders have visited the Swansea site where a major new ‘living building’ project will soon be taking shape. Cllr Rob Stewart, Swanse...

Sure but council housing comes in many shapes and sizes. This is a very interesting scheme in Swansea city centre that incorporates rooftop gardens and food growing: swanseabaynews.com/2022/05/26/c...

Sounds interesting, do you have anything visual? Floor plans or photos?

I think it’s mostly down to cost but would be very happy to be proved wrong. The roof finish here is Catnic Urban and I do know of a clever system with flexible PV adhered directly to the roof finish but I think it costs more than the conventional PVs on frames. I don’t know how output compares

Yes it’s a complicated issue with no easy solutions, especially given the time it takes for the trees to grow. One can never know what the needs will be in 40 years when planting. WoodKnowledgeWales do great work in this area, bringing together the different parties for debate on the subject

That would be great, Tabitha!. I’ll message you in the week.

That looks lovely with all the natural materials used internally. We avoid sleeping lofts as you need to be quote agile to get up to them, and anyone can get a bad back occasionally!

Castan Cabin | Castan Cabins Ltd The Castan Cabin comes fully fitted out and can accommodate up to four people. It is ideal as accommodation on your land for glamping or as a microhome

Is there a website with a floor plan? The standard plan for the Castan Cabin is here: www.castancabins.com/castan-cabin though it is easily adaptable