Have you ever dreamed of having your own private bolthole? Maybe you want a private haven at the end of the garden, or think you could break up your workplace with an enclosed meeting room. We’ll help you create a unique hideaway with charm and style. 1. Choose your structure The first step is to […]

Now the straw walls of our eco-classroom at Castle Hill School have had their first coat of lime render, it’s time for the cladding. We’re using Scottish-grown larch boards – a durable hardwood which will naturally mature over time to an attractive silvery grey. Other parts of the building have been simply rendered using traditional […]

One lovely feature of our straw bale eco classroom is the creation of two cosy reading nooks. They’re made from cob, a mixture of clay, straw and aggregate (more on cob here) and are specially designed so that children can curl up inside with a good book. They’re not yet finished, but these photos show […]

The walls are up, and it’s time to add the green roof to our straw bale classroom at Castle Hill School. First the beams go on Then we need to edge the roof It will be a green roof – a living ‘lawn’ of sedum on top of the classroom, so a strong ‘fence’ around the […]

Do you remember your school toilets? Not a good memory, right? If they were anything like mine, they were smelly, dingy and felt a bit like there might be a bully about to grab you at any minute. It doesn’t have to be like that – with thoughtful design, school toilets can be positive, clean […]

Take a look at our straw bale classroom in progress! Our wonderful work experience student Autumn has put together this fab video showing the build so far at Castle Hill School. It shows the foundations being dug and built, the straw bale walls going up, and finally the timber roof going on: Of course, there’s […]