A key element in the Cornish Sustainable Building Trust’s new affordable, eco-housing project – the RuralZED house – is environmentally friendly windows from Clearwood Joinery.
The Cornish company’s windows, which make up the RuralZED’s unique south facing atrium, enable the house to rely less on central heating and more on passive solar gain, with sunlight heating the house naturally.
Designed by environmental architect Bill Dunster, the RuralZED house won a competition run by the Cornwall Sustainable Building Trust (CSBT) to find “novel and sustainable solutions to the shortage of homes affordable to first-time buyers”.
Clearwood Joinery managing director Chris Kemp said: “Clearwood’s involvement in the project is testament to the hard work the company has put into ensuring its windows reach the highest environmental standards attainable in the building industry.
“Through working with the CSBT on the new RuralZED design we have been able to demonstrate that our products are both sustainable and energy efficient; both crucial elements in the provision of environmentally-friendly housing for Cornwall.”
Clearwood joinery technical director, Treve Temby said: “By always working with high quality selected timbers from sustainable forests we are able to keep the company’s environmental standards high. We are also using engineered laminated timber which helps reduce waste and emissions.”
Mr Temby stressed that the whole window reduced environmental impact due to its overall energy rating value – not just its individual parts.
CSBT company secretary Paul Bright said: “The combination of well-selected stable timber from sustainable forests and good design meant it was a perfect fit with the overall ethos of the project as well as doing the job.”
