The site sits opposite Berry Hall Woodlands, a carefully managed and award winning mixed-aged woodland. All the cedar has been carefully picked from a handful of nurse trees used to push up the final crop timbers. Had this wood not been used for Springfield House it was destined to become firewood.
The Ethos
One of the fundamental environmental drivers for this project is local sourcing.
Please see link to a Podcast about balancing environmental design with low energy design.
We did extensive research comparing this ‘local sourcing route’ with a more conventional ‘traditional sourcing route’ (often through UK suppliers with sources in Eastern or Northern Europe). We compared the two procurement routes based on three main criteria; financial, performance and environment.
The results were staggering. Performance and aesthetics aside, the economic benefit is substantial and does not include for the lower maintenance costs of using an untreated and unpainted moderately durable timber. Even more remarkable was that in order for the ‘local sourcing route’ to be more damaging to the environment than the ‘traditional sourcing route’ the sawmiller would have needed to travel 649 miles each way (619 more than applicable here).
Feel free to read my masters thesis for more information.
