First school in Belgium insulated with straw

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Carole de Fays

Chargée de mission projets européens

4021 Last modified by the author on 19/03/2020 - 15:48
First school in Belgium insulated with straw

The theme of the 2019 UP STRAW YEARBOOK is ’the straw experience to learn in’. It aims to inform and inspire you about the application of straw as a building material in schools and educational buildings. The article we highlight today comes from Belgium. Interview of the Assistant Director of Notre-Dame du Bon Secours College in Binche, the first school in Belgium to be insulated using straw, and built in 2017.

How did you come up with the idea of using straw in construction?

There was a lack of space in our school located in the city centre. We needed more space: a refectory, a multipurpose room and classrooms. At the time, work was planned in 3 phases spread over a period of 20 years. 

It was during a wood trade show that I discovered the wood-straw construction modules, sold by the Walloon company Paille-Tech. The idea of working with several small modules, which go even further by being made of wood, seemed interesting, knowing that our school has a beautiful park.

We met several companies offering this type of solution, but many of them had their timber imported from Eastern countries. Our aim was to work with local companies, using local materials.

So, we chose to work with the Paille-Tech which had developed prefabricated modules as a solution for the Wallonia-Brussels Federation for adding classrooms to school. With a view to having a building that meets our needs perfectly, we worked with an architect who has mastered this construction technique, Christophe Looetvoet and the company De Graeve.

The project appealed to the Board of Directors, which gave the go-ahead. 

This is a first in Belgium. Are there problems associated with setting up such a project?

 

Read the full interview on 

https://www.nweurope.eu/projects/project-search/up-straw-urban-and-public-buildings-in-straw/action-activity/yearbook-2019-notre-dame-de-bon-secours-school/ 

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