Shoestring

The winning competition entry for the Grand Designs NACSBA ‘Self Build on a Shoestring’ competition. A home made of 18mm plywood sections manufactured using a computer-controlled cutting machine. Needing no additional structural support, it is easy to assemble; the building equivalent of flat-pack furniture, with the added benefits of future extension, alteration or relocation.

The design is the component system, using a simple material and a developed technology to produce building components that form the building envelope and structure. Easily assembled by two people, it is affordable, thermally efficient and can be clad in a range of materials. We prototyped the system at the farm in order to test our thinking, and went on to develop another prototype for a fellow creative living locally. The system offers communities or other self organised groups to consider a cost effective way of making homes and settlements which are environmentally sustainable.