London School of Architecture: Affiliated to London Metropolitan University

摘要

Many new-build homes across London are unaffordable, physically isolating, inflexible and materially dishonest. The Conscious Homes of East Haringey proposes an alternative housing model. Here, families are aware of construction and material behaviour. Their homes actively respond to the family's growth, with a timber framework that can shrink and expand with changing requirements. Hemp is grown and processed on-site to become the identifiable building material of the homes, harvested yearly and dried to form the skin of a civic tower. The hemp crop links surrounding parks and allotments, creating an unbroken green chain through East Haringey, and the processing of the crop connects to the existing light industry of the area. The financial model follows a hypothetical commons structure, in which Haringey council owns the land, and residents pay a lease. Homeowners avoid the spiralling inflation of land prices in London by paying only for the build cost of their homes. Efficient resource use and conviviality are the key attributes of the sustainable manufacturing process.