The Linhay is a charitable community education centre situated on the edge of Dartmoor in Devon. The building is a great example of Irebuild’s innovative environmental building skills and social ethics.
As the main contractor, Irebuild facilitated the design, project management, site management and construction of the entire learning centre. Moreover, we carried out an intensive 3 year rehabilitation and upskilling program for vulnerable people through the project.
The project was covered by the BBC.
A project using green materials and sustainable construction
Irebuild specialises in eco-conscious and common-sense building.
All of the materials used came from within a 15 mile radius. Every tree was individually selected, and each brick was reclaimed from nearby demolition sites.
The local and sustainable materials included:
• 83 tonnes of recycled stone and recycled enviroblocks
• 100 tonnes of recycled bricks, salvaged from demolition sites and cleaned by hand
• 300 tonnes of crushed hardcore sourced from the site itself
• 5 tonnes of recycled lathe
• 40 granite plinths handcrafted on site
• All oak timber sourced from nearby forests
• Pulverised Fly Ash (PVA) recycled from power stations
• Clay and shillet used for the cob walls came from the site itself through excavations
• All tiles were stripped from demolition projects
Building people, not just buildings
The majority of the work on The Linhay was carried out by former addicts and offenders as part of our rehabilitation outreach programme.
Supervised by master craftsman, these individuals learned new skills such as labouring, cob building, lime rendering, traditional stone walling and carpentry.
The Linhay is a terrific example of how we are able to help some of the most vulnerable members of society and build a quality eco-friendly construction that benefits the local community.
