Home Grown House The Centre for Creative Arts, Cultures and Engagement (CREATURE)

The HomeGrownHouse project (HGH) is a Higher Education Innovation Funded (HEIF) research project addressing the limited use of locally sourced, small-diameter round wood in construction in the south east of England and will focus on coppiced sweet chestnut timber for its natural durability and mechanical properties. The project has received industry support from Wood-Mizer, a leading wood processing equipment manufacturer with a strong legacy for innovative sawmilling products. The company has helped the project by testing new, low-waste methods of milling coppiced sweet chestnut timber.

A demonstrator 'kit of parts' for constructing small scale buildings will be assembled and structurally tested as the primary outcome of the research project. The components will be designed for disassembly and milled from a range of small, medium and large diameter coppiced thinnings to align with woodland management practices in the region.

The majority of timber used to manufacture the building components will be Grown in Britain certified and sourced from the Birling Estate on the edge of London. Birling will also serve as the temporary site for the timber structures.