Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 03, 2025

An Award-Winning Prefab Cork House Pops Up on the Banks of the River Thames

An Award-Winning Prefab Cork House Pops Up on the Banks of the River Thames

This 475-square-foot home in Eton, England, is made almost entirely of reconstituted waste cork-a by-product of the cork industry in Portugal.

When architect Matthew Barnett Howland finished finessing the design of his experimental Cork house, he transported the specially cut cork bricks to construct it in the back garden of his family home, a former mill house on the banks of the River Thames.

The open-plan structure has five pyramid-like roofs, and it’s built using an ingenious tongue-and-groove system-no glue or mortar is needed to hold together the 1,268 blocks that form the 1.5-foot-thick walls. "It’s like a plant-based LEGO system," says Barnett Howland.



A covered bay serves as an outdoor living space and an antechamber for the house.



The exposed solid cork blocks are gentle to the touch, and they even smell good. The acoustics are soft and calm, and the house only requires heating on the coldest days. The stove is fed with logs harvested from on-site tree maintenance.

The space is subdivided by structural CLT spruce insets, and each of the five volumes serves its own purpose. The plan includes an exposed patio, a kitchen, a bathroom, a dining space, and a bedroom at the end-the most private space in the house. Although the cork is naturally quite dark, the home’s five skylights and large windows provide plenty of natural light.

The house is a prototype, and Barnett Howland doesn’t live it in full time. "Our family believes in multigenerational living—my grandmother lived with us when I was a child, and now my mother lives with us-so it is envisaged that the house will facilitate this approach to family life," he says.

"Cork is an insulating material," explains the architect. "It smells quite woody and smoky, and it has very calming acoustic properties." The family particularly enjoy its cosy atmosphere-especially on chillier days, when they can fire up the wood-burning stove.



Black-stained Accoya is used for the home’s structural beams, windows, and doors. The space features bespoke furniture made from cross-laminated spruce, and handmade stools crafted from English pippy oak.



The bedroom receives morning light from a large window and a ventilation panel that opens to the garden.

The kitchen and bathroom are decked out in untreated brass, which can be recycled at any point, like most of the house. The cork has been left untreated, and the structure is fitted with sprinklers in case of fires. "We were interested in thinking through the idea of a building’s lifecycle, and to work with a bio-renewable material," says Barnett Howland.



The bathroom, featuring a brass sink and bathtub, is a playful space that contrasts with the rest of the house.

The low-carbon home, designed with architect Dido Milne in partnership with Oliver Wilton of the Bartlett School of Architecture, recently won the RIBA Stephen Lawrence Prize for offering up "a highly innovative, low-carbon solution with a wide variety of applications from mass housing to emergency shelters". It was also shortlisted for the Stirling Prize-the annual award for the best building in Britain.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
China Accuses US of Violating Trade Truce
Panama Port Owner Balances US-China Pressures
France Implements Nationwide Outdoor Smoking Ban to Protect Children
German Chancellor Merz Keeps Putin Guessing on Missile Strategy
Mandelson Criticizes UK's 'Fetish' for Abandoning EU Regulations
British Fishing Boat Owner Fined €30,000 by French Authorities
Dutch government falls as far-right leader Wilders quits coalition
Harvard Urges US to Unfreeze Funds for Public Health Research
Businessman Mauled by Lion at Luxury Namibian Lodge
Researchers Consider New Destinations Beyond the U.S.
53-Year-Old Doctor Claims Biological Age of 23
Trump Struggles to Secure Trade Deals With China and Europe
Russia to Return 6,000 Corpses Under Ukraine Prisoner Swap Deal
Microsoft Lays Off Hundreds More Amid Restructuring
Harvey Weinstein’s Publicist Embraces Notoriety
Macron and Meloni Seek Unity Despite Tensions
Trump Administration Accused of Obstructing Deportation Cases
Newark Mayor Sues Over Arrest at Immigration Facility
Center-Left Candidate Projected to Win South Korean Presidency
Trump’s Tariffs Predicted to Stall Global Economic Growth
South Korea’s President-Elect Expected to Take Softer Line on Trump and North Korea
Trump’s China Strategy Remains a Geopolitical Puzzle
Ukraine Executes Long-Range Drone Strikes on Russian Airbases
Conservative Karol Nawrocki wins Poland’s presidential election
Study Identifies Potential Radicalization Risk Among Over One Million Muslims in Germany
Good news: Annalena Baerbock Elected President of the UN General Assembly
Apple Appeals EU Law Over User Data Sharing Requirements
South Africa: "First Black Bank" Collapses after Being Looted by Owners
Poland will now withdraw from the EU migration pact after pro-Trump nationalist wins Election
"That's Disgusting, Don’t Say It Again": The Trump Joke That Made the President Boil
Trump Cancels NASA Nominee Over Democratic Donations
Paris Saint-Germain's Greatest Triumph Is Football’s Lowest Point
OnlyFans for Sale: From Lockdown Lifeline to Eight-Billion-Dollar Empire
Mayor’s Security Officer Implicated | Shocking New Details Emerge in NYC Kidnapping Case
Hegseth Warns of Potential Chinese Military Action Against Taiwan
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Jamie Dimon Warns U.S. Bond Market Faces Pressure from Rising Debt
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Taylor Swift Gains Ownership of Her First Six Albums
Bangkok Ranked World's Top City for Remote Work in 2025
Satirical Sketch Sparks Political Spouse Feud in South Korea
Indonesia Quarry Collapse Leaves Multiple Dead and Missing
South Korean Election Video Pulled Amid Misogyny Outcry
Asian Economies Shift Away from US Dollar Amid Trade Tensions
Netflix Investigates Allegations of On-Set Mistreatment in K-Drama Production
US Defence Chief Reaffirms Strong Ties with Singapore Amid Regional Tensions
Vietnam Faces Strategic Dilemma Over China's Mekong River Projects
Malaysia's First AI Preacher Sparks Debate on Islamic Principles
White House Press Secretary Criticizes Harvard Funding, Advocates for Vocational Training
France to Implement Nationwide Smoking Ban in Outdoor Spaces Frequented by Children
×