BRINGING COB BUILDING INTO THE 21ST CENTURY

Cobbauge is a multi-million pound project from the University of Plymouth, Norwich-based Hudson Architects and French researchers, set up with the aim of building pioneering cob houses and to inspire new opportunities for low-energy construction.

The practice of building in cob – using a mixture of earth, natural fibres and water – has existed for centuries. However, cob construction has not previously satisfied modern levels of thermal performance on its own.the Cobbauge project has subsequently developed a construction technique that brings building in cob, a sustainable, natural building material, into the 21st century.

“Historically cob didn’t insulate as well as it could have; this is what’s so revolutionary about this new system,” explains Anthony Hudson of Hudson Architects. “It combines two types of cob in one construction system: lightweight and heavyweight. Heavyweight does the structure; lightweight does the insulation.”the system complies with Building Regulations both in the UK and France, and has the potential to reduce the energy needed for heating homes.

The Cobbauge project now plans to create two full-size prototype buildings. Once the homes have been constructed, they will be monitored for energy use, thermal conditions and indoor air quality in comparison with equivalent, conventionally constructed homes.