The evolution of Green building techniques, insights with Tom Woolley, Hempcrete advocate

Interesting interview with Tom Woolley

What is your own background briefly?

I am an architect, working for Rachel Bevan Architects in County Down. I was Professor of Architecture at Queens University Belfast from 1991 to 2007 and has been a visiting professor at several other Universities in the UK and internationally.

I was a pioneer of Green Building since editing the Green Building Digest and Handbooks in the 1990s . He has been searching for alternative environmentally friendly methods of building using natural low impact materials.

How was the last 12 months? What were your big wins?

During the past 12 months I have published a new book , a guide to Insulation Materials published by the Institute of Civil Engineers. I have run several hands on workshops on hemp construction in conjunction with the Carbon Co-op in Manchester and the Irish Hemp Cop-operative in Ireland. I have run a series of teaching sessions on healthy buildings with Urban Design London.

I have also taken on a new role working for a Brussels based environmental organisations on various EU sustainable construction   standards working groups

What would you have done differently?

My education and training work has attracted a great deal of interest from lay people, environmentalists, housing professionals and local authority officials. However it has been almost impossible to get architects to attend and we need to find new ways of educating architects to change their attitudes to environmental and climate problems.

Why did you get involved with hempcrete and other sustainable building technologies – will it scale in Ireland?

It is essential to find ways to build and renovate houses and other buildings using sustainable renewable materials and techniques that lead to healthy and energy efficient buildings. Timber frame and hempcrete with the occasional use of wood fibre and sheep’s wool is easy to use and very successful . We now have a robust supply chain and have even been involved with projects in Chile and Australia. There is a huge interest from farmers to grow hemp in Ireland, which is an ideal crop for rural diversification. However there is an urgent need for investment in hemp processing facilities before hemp can become well established in Ireland.

Why do you think it is such a powerful idea?

Hemp buildings can be almost zero energy, providing thermal mass to store heat and protect against overheating. It is the only building material that combines excellent air tightness with breathability without the need for plastic membranes. It is entirely non toxic and is hygroscopic so can manage moisture and humidity reducing the risk of mould growth.

Tell us about greenwash and well-washing, for those that don’t know what are they & what problems do they raise?

There has been a tendency for the mainstream construction industry to make false claims about building sustainable and green buildings, when these are largely much the same as has been built for many decades. Such buildings have high embodied energy and rarely provide the levels of energy efficiency claimed.

One study in England showed that new low energy houses only achieved 30% of the energy efficiency predicted and this has become recognised as the “performance gap.” Questionable claims about the environmental benefits of conventional construction, using labelling systems such as BREEAM and LEED can be dismissed as “greenwash.”

As awareness of the problem of sick building syndrome has increased in recent years, further labelling systems such as WELL building and Living Building Challenge have been introduced. However this is being recognised as Wellwashing as conventional materials and technology continues to be used.

What are your thoughts on the use of toxic and dangerous materials being used to build and renovate homes?

For the past 20 years, scientists have been warning about the dangers of toxic emissions in buildings, creating bad indoor air quality. A wide range of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs and SVOCs) and many carcinogenic and endocrine disrupting chemicals have been detected in most buildings. These chemicals can cause or aggravate, asthma, respiratory problems, and can even cause birth defects, behavioural problems and cancer.

Many of these materials are also highly flammable accounting for the huge rise on fires and the 72 deaths at the Grenfell Tower. Currently building and fire regulations do not restrict the use of these materials.

As part of the team who were originally contacted for ideas & insights when the Rediscovery Centre was first being conceived, what are your thoughts on it nearly two decades later now that it is up & running?

The Rediscovery Building was conceived as a demonstration of environmental best proactive in terms of reusing and existing building, recycled and low impact materials, as well as demonstrating a range of energy efficient technologies. This would house a range of recycling and socially beneficial activities for the local community. It took many years to find the resources for the project but it has been a huge success and acts as a lighthouse for environmental best practice in Ireland and globally.

What interesting / unexpected results might arise post the coronavirus in terms of green building in Ireland, if any?

A worrying aspect of the current pandemic is the need for people to spend even more time inside their homes than usual. This means that they will exposed to hazardous chemicals in the home to an even greater extent. It has to be hoped that as the weather improves that people will open their windows and purge ventilate their homes.

How can people find out more about you personally & your work?

See below

http://www.bevanarchitects.com/
https://www.icebookshop.com/Products/Thermal-Insulation-Materials-for-Building-Applicat.aspx

https://www.routledge.com/Building-Materials-Health-and-Indoor-Air-Quality-No-Breathing-Space/Woolley/p/book/9781138934498

https://www.wiley.com/en-gb/Low+Impact+Building%3A+Housing+using+Renewable+Materials-p-9781444336603

http://www.crowood.com/details.asp?isbn=9781861268419

https://www.brebookshop.com/samples/321427.pdf

Who and where do you get inspiration from?

My early inspiration was from the architects Colin Ward and Walter Segal  I learned from an early stage that architects should be ethical and socially responsible even though we were not taught this in Architecture school. This lead me to found the community architecture and community technical aid movements. This led to the development of green and sustainable building and I am encouraged to keep going by the growth of the extinction rebellion movement

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