back Given an initial budget of £250,000 for the first phase it was necessary to formulate a modular design with a low-tech approach. The building is a lightweight post-and-beam frame, independent of a surrounding timber stud skin. This allowed for very rapid construction of the superstructure. It was decided to eliminate artificial cooling of the office spaces and in order to achieve this we needed some weight in the building. Consequently the roof is construction of internally self-finished precast concrete floor slabs. These aid cooling of the office spaces by allowing for night-time cooling in conjunction with automatic vents. A appropriately simple solution for a practical and environmentally aware client.
The Centre for Organic Horticulture