How to Build a Low-Carbon Home

How can we design our homes to respond to the climate emergency? Discover how architects are reimagining wood, stone and straw to design homes fit for the future.

With almost 30% of global carbon emissions caused by the construction and running of buildings, there is a need radically rethink the materials we use to build our towns and cities. Rather than experimental new inventions, this display explores three ancient materials that are vital for a low-carbon future: wood, stone and straw.

Through the work of contemporary architects Material Cultures, Waugh Thistleton and Groupwork, as well as engineers Webb Yates, follow the journey of these materials from fields, forests and quarries to cutting-edge buildings. Discover how robotics is revolutionising the fabrication of new timber building parts, how your next home might have a thatched roof and learn what role diamond wire plays in a stonemason’s yard.

Alongside models, samples, tools and photographs, the show features full-scale installations and newly commissioned photography by Oskar Proctor.

Join the conversation with the hashtag #LowCarbonHome