Biodegradable home built by hand with cork LEGOs, no glue
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- Опубліковано 4 жов 2019
- Using 1268 cork blocks, Matthew Barnett Howland built a home almost entirely by hand that uses no glues or mortars and can be disassembled at the end of its life.
Designed by Barnett Howland, Dido Milne and Oliver Wilton (who appears in the film), Cork House can be assembled like a “giant, organic LEGO system” using blocks built from cork waste from the bottling industry. With numbered blocks and detailed plans, one person can lift the blocks and place them one on top of another. “From the slab up it's simpler to assemble than some LEGO construction kits that my son was building when he was about 10”, explains Wilton.
The expanded cork blocks are structural- working in compression they take all the downward load-, but there is a bit of wood in the structure: wooden beams for lateral support on windy days and weatherboarding to protect the roof from rains.
Cork dates back thousands of years in construction- Romans used it for roof sheets-, but the technology for shaping the cork blocks for this kit house is very modern. Working with the robotics lab at The Bartlett School of Architecture UCL, the architects developed a robotic milling method for cutting highly specific shapes to deal with water and airtightness issues. The resulting blocks fit together with a snug “interference fit” of the tongue and groove.
The home is completely recyclable and thanks to the mortar-and-glue-free bonds, it can be disassembled quite easily and even composted (though the natural resin holding the blocks together makes this a long process). The team tested out the assembly and disassembly on a smaller structure “Cork Cabin.
www.matthewbarnetthowland.com...
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I love that this channel doesn't go for clickbaity titles, tacky thumbnails and cheesy presentation - begging for subscribers, spammy promotional tie-ins, etc. Just straight into the interesting details, with a great interview style - asking knowledgeable technical questions while giving interviewees enough space to get a sense of their character. Fantastic work as ever, please don't change :)
Thank you Datashat. There's often a lot of pressure to go more conventional so I love to hear from someone like you who is in sync with how Nico and I think. I appreciate the note.
Agreed!!
Agree. Never change.
You don't need the tricks - your content is simply amazing. Love your videos.
I couldn't agree more!
Top work Kirsten and Nico...and as mentioned the fact that you actually give space to the interviewee and allow them to speak is especially refreshing
If I may be so bold, this is a level one Minecraft house.
I was thinking the same too if the camera moved around with a bit of shaking it would be like you are live in a game.
I was totally thinking of Minecraft while watching this.
you may be so bold, lol!
Lol, first thing that popped into my head too
@@pjr5913 I have my own business, and I plan to build a house using many of the elements seen on this channel.
Have a wife and kids.
finally a lego block that isn't excruciatingly painful to step on
cruhg yeah wait till you stub your pinky toe on that LEGO block 🤣
😂😂😂
this "lego block" would give you slivers.
Don't give him ideas - oops too late - he's already built a lego pyramid for the grandma to sleep in and be re-energized like Duchess Fergie.
You've never stepped on a champagne cork then 🤔
Never again will he worry about pinning something to the wall.
I love it. Looks cozy.
😂🤣🤣🤣
Another major advantage of cork is the incredible sound proofing of the house. Compare that to a brick house were you need to fill it with curtains, carpets, textile furniture to keep the echoes out.
I listened this episode on my headphones and you can really notice how great the sound is in those rooms.
Why isn't this more commonly used?
Just a question from a little ignoramus😊…is cork a fire retardant?….
@@nofurtherwest3474 because it is dark, ugly, and impossible to clean (dust or splatter). My dad had one wall of it - the wall nearest the street. It did keep out street (car) noises, but was not attractive. Maybe it would work better on the outside (like another of Kirsten's videos), but in a humid and dusty climate, i'd think the dust that gathers in the holes would grow mildews/algae. Would need to be for very dry areas only. I am guessing, of course.
@@pennypiper7382 another video says YES, that cork trees caught in wildfires not only don't burn, but can be planted as groves in a ring around a village to stop the wildfire from reaching the houess/buildings.
@@genkiferal7178 interesting thanks. They should just cover it
really like the fire sprinklers. i'm a sprinkler fitter for 12 yrs, nicest system i've seen
Some people are so unbelievably smart. He made me more aware of my environment with his description of that one. Hats off to this engineer architect and his project partners. Bravo!
Wonder how solar panels could be added and how cool it would be in a hotter climate like Texas.
@@joashley505 Yes it was an overcast day so Solar panels would be struggling to earn their money.
They must know how it would cope in a warm climate.
As with all Insulation it works both ways, but once heat is inside and it's warm outside, it takes some getting rid of, if the walls have soaked it up. If i walk on cork I can feel the heat from my feet being returned so I'm guessing it doesn't do much soaking up of heat.
@Kirsten Dirksen ,
Wow, this is blowing my mind, on several levels!
The Expanded Cork block system is amazing, in and of itself, but the buildings shown here that are constructed from that system, are so innovative, practical, and quite beautiful.
I have enjoyed working with wood for many years, and can hardly believe, how little I knew about Oak trees, especially the fact that their bark is Cork!
Beyond that, I never had any idea that Cork had such characteristics, as would make it viable as a structural building material.
After hearing the gentleman refer to the Cork tree as "Cork Oak", I took the time to do a quick web search on the term.
I am amazed at how much I learned about Cork and Oak, in just a few short minutes!
For example, Oak trees belong to the genus Quercus, which are a subspecies of the Beech family.
All Oaks are deciduous trees, meaning that they bear broad leaves, as opposed to needles;
however, while some species of Oak shed their leaves, other species are Evergreens--yet are also deciduous! I never knew that any such tree existed, that had this combination of characteristics!
And there are more than 600 species of Oak, several of which grow in various regions and climatic zones, world-wide.
While I knew that Oak trees were not limited to North America, and that numerous species also grow throughout Europe, I had never known that some Oak species even grow in the Mediterranean region, in the Middle East, in Asia, and even in North Africa; nor that some species produce berries, while others produce Acorns.
I learned all of that, in less than ten minutes, thanks largely, to a Wikipedia article that turned up in my web search.
I find all of this to be utterly fascinating, and am intrigued enough that I want to commit some more time to researching Cork and Oak trees.
Thank you so much, for yet another incredible, fully enjoyable episode.
None of this educational odyssey would have taken place, had I not watched this video!
I love the work that you and your husband produce.
Your channel is one of my most favorite on UA-cam!
♥️😃👍🏼
I didn’t know any of that either and certainly learned a lot about cork from Oliver. I now love the material.
@@kirstendirksen
Thank you for replying to my post! It's really nice to exchange messages with you!
You and your family are among my favorite people on UA-cam.
I've been enjoying your videos for nearly five years, and have seen your work progress and watched your family grow.
I think it's wonderful that your children are a part of all of your journeys and productions.
I love that they are all so into what you do, and that they all enjoy travelling and seeing all of the homes that you visit.
Just today, I was watching the episode featuring the man who leases the military bunker complex, and has turned it into a Bed & Breakfast operation.
I especially enjoyed seeing your son's excitement over the novelty of the bunker complex. He was clearly having a good time!
It's nice to see your entire family being a part of your productions.
I always look forward to your uploads, and often binge-watch them, when I'm having trouble sleeping.
I'm excited to see where your travels will take you, next!
🙂
I really appreciate this kind of experimental architecture. Really fantastic.
Yes makes the heart sing!...........
Why isn't this type of building material more common? Seems it should be
When I lived in Portugal I saw many areas planted with cork oaks. Recently there has been a move towards using plastic wine stoppers. Surely the cork farmers would be delighted to find an alternative market for their crop. As I understand it, cork is not only a wonderful insulator, but also insect and damp resistant as well as being much lighter to transport and work with, which makes it less labour intensive for the construction industry.
One question would be, when the blocks are being formed originally, would it be possible to mould them into the dovetail block shapes to remove the need to mill the complex shapes?
Kirsten and her team do such a wonderful job. Thanks for enlightening all of us about the opportunities of the many unorthodox human habitats you've witnessed. I can only imagine all the work behind the scenes scheduling and editing. Please keep up the fantastic work!
This home in particular is a tremendously fascinating use of materials and engineering. Love it!
Small footprint, mostly recyleble, construction made easy for the consumer, positive attributes to self sustaining, inexspensive relocation, in my opinion, this is a winner!!!
Brian Staples try buying that much cork
Brian Staples Cork is expensive, and there are cork shortages. It only grows in certain regions and as far as I know is a very slow growing “crop”. I’d imagine these blocks are completely filled with some nasty non-biodegradable glue - but I didn’t bother watching this in its entirety so I can’t say for sure. Edit; they’re not
elijah mikle I didn’t make “smart ass remarks” and I don’t appreciate your tone. I stated an assumption which was incorrect. It doesn’t change the fact that this “product” is completely unrealistic and UNSUSTAINABLE in so so many ways.
elijah mikle why didn’t I finish the video? Because it’s a waste of time just like these blocks - and we don’t have time to fuck around with fantasies like this.
@@PrimetimeNut Cork only grows "naturally" in certain regions, and one of those natural places you did neglect to name was the little island of Australia (which admitedly applies a carbon footprint to transportation), but Cork can be grown other areas too, like parts of northern, central and southern america
Besides with the main use of cork being for wine industry, and with them throwing away or rejecting 75% of the material they make corks from, there is plenty of possibilities to reform these industrial cast-offs , not to mention this process can use cork from other branches of the tree, so more of each tree can now be "shaved" to provide cork
As long as it doesnt cause a repeat of the Palm Oil crises it should be fine for folks to grow it on their farms
“If there was more demand they could just plant more” not so easy, corks grow in a small region in Portugal and Spain, and take decades to produce well. In poor countries it’s impossible to use it as insulation because of it’s price.
Might be interesting as a way of recycling tho. :)
Did they say in the beginning something about using cork left over from the wine industry? Like how much wine are people drinking? Because yeah it would only be a good thing if they could do it from waste cork maybe people could start recycling it like they do with Metal /paper not that that so-called establish recycling happens as it should all is presented is doing. Here in Australia apparently we've been chipping out recycling overseas for ever and now they don't want to and it's all gonna go to shit pretty soon I'd say. And I only became aware of this a little more than a year ago maybe and most people I've asked haven't been aware of The recycling farce as it is in Australia. So nice idea but maybe not so feasible with the cork bricks ATM
I don't know i had a cork tree in texas
.the guy who planted was an expert plant tho..the property had several trees that should not grow there but did with no protections nor additional water. So if some enterprising person wanted to they could grow it in other areas of the earth.
@Victoria Marshall; I'm thinking that all that plastic China isn't accepting could be melted into blocks like this cork house uses. Only need to over come the photo degradation from them being exposed to light. Maybe design a living roof and vine covered walls. Or paint the outside.
AnantaSesaDas I think the justification for not recycling most things is cost unfortunately it's just cheaper to buy new plastic then it is to recycle old plastic same as paper same as practically everything/resource on this planet. I mean surely there must be a way to recycle or reuse say cement from the constant building and tearing down buildings all over the place but no sand is apparently cheap to buy it's like ridiculous. I got called crazy for carrying 6 30 kg bags of sand one at a time about 2 km from where they were just thrown into a rubbish skip bin ,completely brand-new ,just because they were left over after the job was finished. The amount of people that couldn't understand why I would prefer to use something which would otherwise go to landfill rather than buy it new it's not the money. I would love to see used plastic utilised but well money calls the shots like so many other good ideas it's doubtful this will happen in the near future . Well I can say is since the whole world seems to be ,for the most part totally insane I don't really mind being called crazy .🙃
Cork Mayan temples. Very cool. And to be using cork waste for the blocks is outstanding!
Machiavelli?
@@OLTTWFNMW Every one sees what I appear to be, few really know what I am
@@diaspo no such thing as normal so i expect you to be who or what you are 👍
I would love to buy this house as a kit.
That makes 2 of us. I did not see costs on the website.
Man! Beautiful and fantastic concept. Plant based structural homes.
‘Yeah?’ After every sentence. I bet that was fun editing so David Brent
@uni blab : agreed.
this channel is pure gold. thank you
Way too dark inside for me, but I admire the concepts and some of the aesthetics.
Could be winter. It’s always dark in the U.K. 😭 also it’s not painted inside like a regular house would be.
@@SimonLeeds It isn't alway dark here. 🤦Contrary to popular belief, we do have a summer.
I actually like that aspect the most. Feels like dense forest.
The outside is lighter because the sun has brightened it, identical to the effect in cedar.
yeah to dark
i love the minimized range of materials
Awesome. All natural and I also like the good sound absorbtion qualities inside the house. Great for the audiophille or movie lover.
Everybody knows and loves LEGO. It's always nice to see how much that TOY is inspiring creative people for their ideas and for new products. I like this construction.
There's a cork shortage at the moment. He doesn't mention price but there's no way it could be an inexpensive alternative to traditional materials.
Thats probably why they bought all the scrap from wine cork companies to cut the cost, probably still pricey though
I actually appreciate the fact it was built by 2 people, uses no other joining material or supports. Costly as it may be, I would say it still saves quite a bit considering the small costs (which add up quickly) of traditional building methods. I also appreciate the clean, green eco manner of building. I would use this. Especially considering the ease of assembly. I would like to see one disassembled.
Yes I had heard about a cork shortage about 20 years ago
however... should this kind of building style take off, capitalism will provide one way or another. it wont be cheap for the foreseeable century.. but if we assume this kind of material replaces current means over time, the cork industry itself would grow along with it. And once we figure out how to skip the decade long growing process... we'll be in business :)
Living here in the USA and being curious about alternative materials for construction, it amazes me that this is a virtually unknown way to build.
The material looks great. And any environmentally friendly building materials are of course welcome.
I lived in a house with the inside covered with this kind of cork sheets maybe an inch thick. It was great but we ended up painting it over because of the dust that would come out of it. It also nicks quite easily in the corners and we ended up adding wood corners. The insulation was not outstanding and there was condensation and mold on the inside in places but that may have been due to the paint.
I'd be curious as well about the long term water issues. He said that in clinical testing the roofing proved to be absorbing water so they put treated wood slats to wick away the moisture a bit. However I would be concerned about the side walls and how it handles repeated freezing temps if there is water within the walls.
My experience is with internal usage only and in Lisbon, Portugal where temperatures rarely go below zero centigrade. There are several types of cork aggregates with different densities and weights. For example, on that house, the top floor also had cork on the floor under the carpet. These were much denser plates so that they could withstand the furniture. They have worked remarkably well to this day some 35 years later. I am sure you can find a grade that would satisfy those conditions and the house in the video is at a place that freezes regularly without any such issues (although only time will tell). I think it is great that anyone could just stack up a house without a lot of machinery and trades people.
Jose Simas can you imagine living on the Thames & the moisture issues? Perhaps areas that are naturally dry, arid, even hot. It'd be great if it would keep the house cooler.
@inFocul I am not 100% sure too but they look exactly the same.
I bet the acoustics are great. I dig the coziness, a cocoonlike feel. I like it, but all that brass in the bath to polish, whoa...
Cork can be painted with eco friendly paint to lighten up the darkness. Or attribute lights. 🙏🏼
Brilliant. Love the reuse of cork waste. The use of fully recyclable, plant based materials. Lovely acoustics as well.
This architecture really makes sense to me. I also find it amazing. Thanks for sharing.
Congratulations, so clever and beautiful design
This is fantastic! Easily the best innovative design I've ever seen. Also a fun watch. Thanks, yes.
As an architect best channel for me❤️❤️❤️
OMG this is absolutely amazing.
This is probably one of my most favorite structures which you have posted. Thank you.
Saw this on "Grand Designs" the other day it's an amazing feat of sustainable material use. I want one.
Kirsten! I have been following your videos for a few years now! This rates as maybe the best. Its because its a possible structure the un-educated could build and thats why i follow. Learning to my build my own house but I want it be sculptural beautiful art!!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH AND I HOPE TO SEE MORE OF THIS!!! AMAZING
Reminds me of the story about 3 Little Pigs
I absolutely love this house, the design but thoughtfulness to the ecosystem. I wish you would’ve asked the square footage and what the cost would be. Brilliant.
This is amazing!!
Very impressive. Loved learning about cook's uses too.
This is incredible. I would love to dig into uses in tiny homes (on wheels).
i would love to grow cork on my property. i totally love design of the house..bravo for construction material.
Great tour, your host was very eloquent. A structural engineer/seismic engineer would have to assess for use in a seismic zone (I am in SF, CA).
Really awesome! Never seen nothing like that and i'm from Portugal, land of the Cork ☺️
Beautiful and from the beginning pure natural. If it was available as diy blocks I would buy it immediately.
I would love to live in a home made of cork! Thank You for your very through explanations on the use of cork.
Really enjoyed this, especially when he talked about what didn't work with the previous incarnations. Would love to see that be a question you ask of all these folks you're interviewing: "What would you do differently with this project knowing what you know now?"
Brilliant!
What I like about this is that it shows that with the right material you can have great potential for automation making housing much more affordable. And with the right design (don't really love the architecture here but anyways) you could even layout channels to make installation for electric and plumbing really easy.
I could imagine something like this could also work with something like 3D printing with expanding foam. Or some kind of advanced foam that is stronger and UV stable. First print roughly then mill into precise shape like in the video. Basically an example how 3D printing home could work by automatically(?) subdividing a building into blocks to be produced and then assembled.
Cork is awesome but clearly you don't have a very large supply of it. Or maybe some kind of fungus that you just feed and it grows into something like cork that can be scaled up in a more industrial process.
Mushroom houses sound interesting
@@gsh4373 I think Kirsten Dirksen made a video about using mold to grow packaging materials. So it's not that outlandish :)
You'd just need to find the right fungus and design an industrial process to manufacture and grow this stuff.
If one were growing something, it could be grown into a form, reducing the need for milling, and increasing strength.
@@izzyplusplusplus1004 Yeah definitely. Kind of like "lab grown wood".
But you'd need a more complex or articulating mold so the part will release.
@@dejayrezme8617 a release layer of a textile product perhaps?
Handsome looking design that could be suitable for people into the small house movement. A+
And more arid climates.
How would that stand up to a tornado?
Very cool ideas. This would probably pair really well with hemp elements.
I think this would make for a nice garage with the right fittings.
I love it... It would suit a Canadian winter or summer. I am concerned about high-winds, but they seem fairly comfortable with its resilience.
such a beautiful inner garden... so cozy :)
I like his little affectation of adding yeah/ya to the end of sentences... "We didn't want to decrease the quality of the internal environment by adding chemicals that possibly could have slowly poisoned the inhabits, ya?"
Very impressive. This is outstanding good content. And that they went to the trouble of designing in disassembly is the icing on the cake. Well done.
Incredible, but highly fascinating!
This gentleman is doing amazing work to build comfortable healthy and beautiful living spaces. Thank you!
Kudos to Kirsten Dirksen and family for bringing these alternative methods of living in tune with nature to us!
Truly the best construction method i have ever seen.👍👍👍
Wonderful. Love this so much!
WOW. I love this and the whole idea. This is far more sustainable than cutting down trees. We could easily change the lumber into bamboo and bam. Just wow. I hope this is hugely expanded upon.
What a gorgeous unique home, so sustainable and a great way of pre fab.
If that ceiling was in lighter shade, it would look so much higher and bigger. What a lovely woodland garden.
I sold flooring for years. Buyers were few, but they were ecstatic about the beauty and functions. I would only use cork in my open house.
I love this.
Prove it
Structural wardrobes. Nice idea. 👍👍💐
I like the building material used here.
I have to build one lol this is the goal.
Also the megalithic beehive houses on the Dingle Peninsula & the Newgrange construction. Simple yet effective ancient technology. Lovely.
Lovely. Really loved this .
This is such an intriguing application of building materials. I wonder how it would work in a more arid climate such as southwestern USA, where the climate is a mix of high temperatures, lots of sun light, but also some colder nights in winter. There are dust storms, and downpours of rain that can be combined with strong winds. It would also be interesting to know how this would stand up to pests such as termites or bees. The architects deserve high praise for their long term work on a system that truly is "thinking outside the box"!
I live in northeast Texas and was also wondering the same thing. I live in the country and was also wondering how it would hold up to straight line winds, tornadoes, large hail, mice, armodilloes, raccons, opossum,etc. Stll, great concept.
Termites would destroy this thing instantly. Unless you soaked it in pesticides.
@@juneday1605 Oh my goodness! I can't imagine adding all those critters into the mix!
@@TheOwenMajor I wondered if that might be the case. It would defeat the purpose I think to have to treat it with pesticides...
@@goaskalicefortea6318 lol That was just for starters. It can get interesting.
Can you imagine the amount of land it would take to build these homes on a mass scale, the UK doesn’t have room now for all the people, soggy slimy cork cabins sound delightful.
ChuckandMax, great point, always soaking wet for days on end.
I love it. And you can actually stand up in the loft bedroom.
fabulous !
Really like the brass counters.
Amazing! What a magnificent property, right on the river, so lush!
10:16 - thank you for "rediscovering" ancient techniques. Type Prambanan temple to see giant-scale temple architecture in Java, Indonesia. Good job!
Lovely, Tfs!
You should investigate selling this system as kit homes. I think a lot of people would be interested.
Blimey! You just never know what peeps have got in their back garden.
Gorgeous
Brilliant!!!
REally love this.
Love it!
Interesting as hell...enjoyed it..captivating.
With this video I like to close my eyes and imagine it's a house tour with Louis Theroux.
Aside from the confessions of drinking, I always loved cork. I think the building concept is brilliant. Really quiet from outside noise and excellent for acoustics as in audio possibilities.
As for recycling, I do what the municipality requires. But as mentioned, it is hopeless on global scale. $ store stuff-example.
Very few can afford or want bespoke items. Trends are what sells. We have directed ourselves into grasping at “straws”.
absolutely fantastic!
The fixhures and fittings are excellent. I love the addition of the (reclaimed) CLT spruce used for the wardrobes, door thresholds, shelves, beds and kitchen furnishings, which balances the darkness of the cork. I was worried about wind and fire damage but he seems to have covered those hazards. What l am unsure about is probably more psychological as someone could just get a chainsaw and cut through the walls potentially so l"d feel vulnerable. Further, it's a little dark. (Bottle corks are not so dark therefore l guess it's the 'annealing' process under pressure that chars them or discolors them, l guess.) Was there no way of naturally bleaching them? The ziggurat style roof enclosures, although providing the house with a uniqueness and charm, giving it a cottage feel, for me seems a much underused space. I am sure that could have been solved with a slight alteration to the roof blocks' internal design by slicing them so they're smooth and would look more like the ceiling frieze in the bathroom snd would have yielded more space. You have almost the same capacity up at roof level as you do below, or perhaps only 1/3 less. Were you not tempted to cover the cork with a brighter veneer facia? I know you want to see your lovely cork brickwork but you could have put a strip of glass or perspex every 6' so the cork could be seen. That would strengthen the structure too. I hate to be the messenger but l know the first purchasers will immediately spray the walls white (or their desired pastel) to brighten it. The other alternative would be more lighting. I would have been tempted to build 2 levels and make the pyramid rooves shorter: that way the beds would be closer to the roof lights and the stars above. All my personal suggestions aside, the Architect builder is obbiously highly talented and deserves to feel proud of such a magnificent example of outside-the-box ideology in this grey-glass breezeblock realm we find ourselves inhabiting.
Love this design. I would buy one.
Truly love this concept! Xxxx
Beautifully cradle to cradle !! No frills !!
Fascinating, love it
amazing idea and good way to realized it...!
Best episode so far. Wow
One time a bottle cork made its way into my compost pile. I must have turned that pike for 5-8 years. It never broke down from all that bacterial, heat, or turning.
It always got kept in pile one, the first in the digest steps.
This is really interesting! I love it! 😊
i love this concept. seems to be endless applications if you just imagine it
I wonder if a pellet furnace could burn untreated granules?
I could see raised garden beds constructed of cork blocks.
This material could make some interesting Bonsai containers too.
Maybe an ngo could pick up a contract for regional housing construction for refugees & homeless basic shelters. Other than the CNC milling & block creation its "waste material" how
expensive was the final build? (Research was grant based so that was paid for and programmers deserve compensation/recognition but, how much does a standard robotic arm cost?). Very sustainable project & execution well done. Just hope to see it used sometime.
This is only part in architecture as a student that i like so much.