Transition in Action, Totnes 2030, an Energy Descent Action Plan

What Could Our Buildings Be Like?

By Chris Bird, TTT Building & Housing Group

Energy efficient houses (new and old) close to where people work and socialise
Homes that are part of communities, smaller and closer together, and making efficient use of energy and materials
Existing houses fitted with effective methods of insulation and energy generation wherever feasible
Example: Terraced houses with communal gardens and associated work unit.

Local and sustainable materials with the minimum of embodied energy – cob, timber, straw, etc.
Used and recycled materials wherever feasible, especially those on sourced on site
Alternatives wherever possible to oil-based materials which will be at a premium
Example: Sheep’s wool insulation, a local material with around one-tenth the embodied energy of rockwool.

Decreased reliance on oil-driven machinery such as diggers and bulldozers will dictate different building systems that are achievable with human energy
Developments and buildings designed to a human scale.
Use of brownfield rather than greenfield sites, keeping the latter for growing food, biodiversity and open space
Example: Replacement of reinforced concrete structures which require a lot of mechanical energy and unsustainable use of cement with timber framed structures built on pile foundations.