Tag Archives: Cork House

Future Of Homebuilding: “Cork House” By Matthew Barnett Howland (2019)

From Architect Matthew Barnett Howland website:

Matthew Barnett Howland Cork HouseCork House embodies a strong whole life approach to sustainability, from resource through to end-of-life.  Expanded cork is a pure bio-material made with waste from cork forestry.  The bark of the cork oak is harvested by hand every nine years without harming the tree or disturbing the forest.  Matthew Barnett Howland Cork HouseThis gentle agro-industry sustains the Mediterranean cork oak landscapes, providing a rich biodiverse habitat that is widely recognised. This compelling ecological origin of expanded cork is mirrored at the opposite end of the building’s lifecycle.  The construction system is dry-jointed, so that all 1,268 blocks of cork can be reclaimed at end-of-building-life for re-use, recycling, or returning to the biosphere.

Completed in 2019, Cork House was designed by Matthew Barnett Howland with Dido Milne and Oliver Wilton.

Cork House is a brand new and radically simple form of plant-based construction.  Monolithic walls and corbelled roofs are made almost entirely from solid load-bearing cork.  This highly innovative self-build construction kit is designed for disassembly, is carbon-negative at completion and has exceptionally low whole life carbon.

To read more: https://www.matthewbarnetthowland.com/