Grand designs for house of straw

The straw house is being built using locally-grown materials

A straw home is being built at the University of Bath to see if it could be a widely-used model for the future.

Researchers are constructing the house with straw bales and hemp to assess whether they can be used more widely in the building industry.

One of the aims is to help the UK achieve its target on carbon emissions.

Professor Peter Walker said:"Straw bales are an agricultural by-product and the material can be re-grown so is totally sustainable and renewable."

'Carbon footprint'

He said: "The straw can be grown on a farm that is local to the construction site which saves on transport and minimises the carbon footprint of the building.

"Up to this point straw bales have not really been seen as a credible building material by much of the industry, even though straw has always been used in building for centuries and straw bales have been used for about 100 years," added Professor Walker.

The straw house is due to be completed in the late summer and will be monitored for a year, with researchers measuring insulation effectiveness, air tightness and humidity.

Last year the team helped to build an eco-friendly house in six days for Channel 4's Grand Designs programme.