Journal Archive

CobBauge: Open Days & Open Minds

Over the last few months, our CobBauge team, alongside Grocott & Murfit Builders, hosted two successful Open days at the CobBauge Pilot Build House in Fakenham, North Norfolk. These involved the coming together of a range of interested and interesting people, from the local and wider area, to di

Retrofit Series: Building in Resilience

Despite the unseasonably warm Autumn, the successive hikes to energy prices begin to hurt as we turn on our heating systems for the winter. Sadly, these prices are unlikely to abate over the coming years. The National Grid requires significant expansion to cope with the transition of fossil fuel

Retrofit Series: Never Let a Good Crisis Go to Waste

As the hottest summer on record fades away and the cold months draw nearer, it’s the thought on everyone’s minds: how to cope with their energy bills. Liz Truss’ plan to freeze bills for two years will have been welcomed by many around the country but average bills will still be around double

A Closer Look: Chantry Barn

Chantry Barn is a Grade II listed timber framed barn in Suffolk that had been left redundant and was beginning to fall into disrepair. It presented quite an imposing black timber-clad structure set at the point where the land slopes away to the fields. The key characteristic of the barn was its rou

An Introduction to Embodied Carbon

Embodied carbon is a vitally important part of the overall carbon footprint of any building and it is becoming increasingly significant. For decades now, sustainably minded clients have sought to commission low-energy buildings, sometimes called ‘eco homes’. The focus for these buil

OWCH! The Older Women’s Co-Housing Project

In our recent post about later-life co-housing we talked about OWCH, the Older Women’s Co-Housing project in New Barnet, also known as the ‘New Ground’ project. Our Georgie Day wrote a more detailed piece about OWCH for the RIBA Journal shortly after it opened back in 2016...A brilliantly-au

Earth Field Tests For CobBauge Buildings

Breaking, Shrinking, Swelling, Smelling. Strips, Jars & Cigars… As part of our first-of-its-kind CobBauge house, our team has been learning about the earth field tests for CobBauge buildings! With the support of our European and UK partners, this has involved completing

Atlantic Beach Regeneration Competition: Lewis Williams Has Made It To The Finals!

We are immensely proud of Architectural Assistant Lewis Williams whose submission to the Atlantic Beach Regeneration Competition has been made it to the final round! The competition’s jury anonymously selected three finalists from a very strong field of designs from all over the world. Th

Houses & Trees #2 – ‘Wood-Hoods’, ‘Neighbour-woods’ and a True ‘Forest Village’

My recent post about houses and trees was part of a long-standing interest in the topic which is at least as old as a thought-experiment called ‘Forest Village’, which I carried out over a decade ago. I come back to it from time to time, and I have recently stumbled across two other projec

Our New Role ‘Head of Sustainability’ Has Been Awarded To Jack Spencer Ashworth!

Sustainability is nothing new to Hudson Architects. Low energy buildings have been a life-long commitment of Anthony Hudson and sustainable principles have formed a cornerstone of the practice since he founded it 20 years ago. However, the world we find ourselves in is a different one to the o

A Day With The CobBauge Building Specialists!

On the eve before work commenced on the UK’s first ever CobBauge home, members of both the Hudson Architects and Grocott and Murfit teams spent a day with Cob & CobBauge building specialists Paul Barclay and his son Sol; learning how to make the perfect CobBauge mix. An insightful traini