Dr Eshrar Latif wins an industrial research consultancy grant to test bio-based building materials

Dr Eshrar Latif has recently won an industrial research consultancy grant to collaborate with the Wales-based construction firm Wellspring Homes to characterise and optimise bio-based building materials and test their performance in use.

Dr Latif will be working collaboratively with Wellspring Homes, a construction company that build affordable new build homes, and aims to set the standard for sustainable living by pursuing construction innovation that utilises better-than-zero carbon technology to deliver the next generation of living space.

The research will be based around bio-based materials; materials that grow or are a natural part of the biosphere such as timber, straw, hemp, cork, clay, and earth. These materials typically have lower embodied carbon, with timber around three times less than steel and over five times less than concrete. The project will involve monitoring a number of under-construction hempcrete buildings in Wales after the initial optimisation of the bio-based building materials. Wellspring Homes will then release open-source data that can be used by future home builders and researchers. The one-year-long project will start from the middle of November 2022.

Dr Eshrar Latif said:  ‘Wales is always in the forefront of promoting and developing innovative sustainable buildings and I am excited to contribute to the new sustainable housing scheme led by Wellspring Homes."