Sustainable shelter project boosts local outdoor community groups

A research team from the University of Huddersfield has made innovative use of recycled materials to provide a much-needed shelter for green-fingered local community groups.

Members of the Sustainable Living Research Centre have teamed up with Mirfield-based modular building company Actiform and Natural Kirklees, a charity that acts as an umbrella organisation for over 100 voluntary groups who are preserving green spaces around the district.

Mostly using materials that would otherwise have been discarded in the factory, Actiform team constructed a shelter structure on a community garden site on Peace Pit Lane close to Leeds Road and the canal in Deighton on council-owned land on the outskirts of Huddersfield.

“Groups that are part of Natural Kirklees work on many, mainly council-owned, sites around the area. However, some sites have no shelter and there is nowhere to go when it rains, which is one of the reasons that they can struggle to attract more volunteers,” says Dr Yun Gao, Professional Lead in Architecture and the Built Environment and Director of Sustainable Living Research Centre.

“We have been working with Natural Kirklees for around two years, and from six sites in the area we identified this one at Peace Pits Lane as it is a great place to try this prototype structure. This is because of the important work growing groups are doing and the ability to unite members from other groups, such as Support to Recovery and Community Platform together with the Kirklees Community Growing Group, who now manage the site.

“Actiform are local and we were very happy when they came on board. They provided all the construction materials and also worked over the weekend to build the shelter for the community. This project is a great example of how a range of partners can be brought together for a cause that benefits everyone.

“Recycling and reusing material is a huge issue in the construction industry right now, and this project demonstrates how that can be done with a quick win that saves carbon as well. The structure can be dismantled and rebuilt on a different site, and recycles materials including wooden pallets, sawn timber frame and composite panels.”

Using Whole Lifecycle Assessment, the carbon impacts of recycling waste materials for constructing the pavilion for the community garden were evaluated by the research team in the Sustainable Living Research Centre.

Results show that the whole-life carbon emissions can represent a reduction up to 73% compared with a pavilion using all the new materials. The findings demonstrate that integrated design and industrial material reuse can significantly reduce embodied carbon across a building's life cycle.

Dr Gao adds, “The project has been beneficial for our research centre, as we have compiled a database to record what waste materials can be reused, rather than discarded. We are in discussions over constructing some more buildings along these lines, which would be great because there so many volunteers working on the green spaces locally that would benefit from somewhere to shelter from everything that climate in Kirklees can throw at them.”

A launch event for the shelter was held on the Peace Pit site with participants from many community growing groups and the Mayor, Councillor Karen Allison.

The Mayor praised the collaboration of all the groups to make this happen. A song, specifically written for the shelter, was sung by Dr Manas Murthy with music played by Tom Taylor. The song includes the line, “Covid hit us really hard, lost so many members…This is our sanctuary, our home away from home.”

The research team was led by Dr Yun Gao and Professor Nic Clear, and comprised of Dr Manas Murthy, Dr. Nwakaego Onyenokporo, Dr Tamiris Capellaro Ferreira and Hemen Galal.

From Actiform: Nick Collington, Kathryn Collington and Stephen Wainwright

From Natural Kirklees: Ed Day, Christine Senior

From Kirklees Community Growing Group: Cherry Styles

From Support to Recovery (S2R): Jason Kerry

Kirklees Council: Gill Logan.

Music played by: Manas Murthy, Tom Taylor, Faye Chambers, Jason Kerry.