System utilises insulation qualities of straw and timber to form structural prefabricated panels.

Straw buildings are invariably associated with anything from one-off owner builds through to historical digs, but its environmental credentials have followed it through the centuries; it now has new dimensions with prefabricated structural panels.

Straw’s genesis towards a prefabricated structural panel began with a UK company called BaleHaus (now Modcell) when shortlisted for an award at the 2010 British Construction Awards, and that exposure started the company’s journey to supplying straw structural panels for major commercial projects.

According to company sources their straw structural panels are insulated, high-performance, low energy ‘passive’ buildings and built using renewable, carbon sequestering, sustainable building materials. They’re designed for use in offices, schools, housing and commercial buildings.

“Our offsite-manufactured wall and roof cladding system can be quickly and efficiently installed, creating buildings with thermal performance higher than the current building regulations require.
This super-insulated system, combined with our airtight details, means that buildings constructed using ModCell panels can meet the demanding PassivHaus specification.”

A recent affordable housing development in Garndiffaith , South East Wales, UK, involved three buildings utilising their structural panels. One unit uses the ModCell Core panel system and the other uses the new ModCell TAM panel system.

Each of the three units are divided into 4 apartments, each with two bedrooms, creating twelve new homes. The buildings also complied with and satisfied all acoustic regulations.

The homes will also have their energy consumption monitored for several years and then be compared to traditional buildings systems.

Their panels can be lifted into position on site using a telescopic arm or crane, and the mass of 2.7m x 3m panel is approximately 750kg. Panels are sealed using a range of airtight tapes.

See: www.modcell.com