Brighton Waste House - ecological architectural design

The Brighton Waste House is a building constructed using over 85% waste material and a living laboratory for ecological architectural design.

Used day-to-day by university staff and students and available for booking and visits at the University of Brighton's City Campus, the Waste House demonstrates numerous principles of sustainable architecture and design.

The Brighton Waste House project investigated strategies for constructing a contemporary, low energy, permanent building using over 85 per cent waste material drawn from household and construction sites. The building is Europe's first permanent public building made almost entirely from material thrown away or not wanted. It is also an EPC ‘A’ rated low energy building.

It aims to prove that under valued, so-called 'waste' material has potential to become a valuable resource and therefore prove that there is no such thing as waste, just stuff in the wrong place.

It also aims to prove that a contemporary, innovative, low energy building can be constructed almost entirely by young people studying construction trades, architecture and design. To this end over 300 students worked on the project, which was initially fabricated in the workshops of City College Brighton and Hove, and then assembled and completed by students and apprentices between May 2013 and April 2014. While being constructed, over 750 school pupils from over 35 local primary, secondary and tertiary colleges visited the Brighton Waste House site to learn about sustainable values and practices.

Contact Duncan Baker-Brown for details on visiting the Waste House

Waste House May 2014. Two storey building with three windows and a door on main facade. Clad in grey rubber tiles.

Designing and building the Brighton Waste House

The project was created in partnership with waste reusage expert Cat Fletcher and her Freegle organisation, Mears Group housing and social care provider, Greater Brighton Metropolitan College [formerly City College] and a range of specialists and waste-concern enterprises.

This living laboratory uncovered numerous problematic practices leading to wastage. For example the old vinyl banners that you might see tied to street lamps during festivals tend to be date sensitive and are therefore only used once. At the Brighton Waste House, these are now being used as internal vapour control layers. Old toothbrushes are also being used in the wall cavities, including over 20,000 of them that have only been used once by business class and first class passengers flying from Gatwick.

Other materials were taken construction project discarded material, including thrown-away bricks, ply sheets and off-cut timber, as well as domestic rubbish including old plastic razors, denim jeans, DVDs and video cassettes, that were slotted into wall cavities to help with insulation in the house. These were then monitored to see how efficient their insulation qualities are, bringing scientist postgraduate research students into the research team.

Ten tonnes of chalk waste and 10 per cent clay were used to create a rammed chalk wall, with a compressor and pneumatic rammer. Rammed earth can contribute to the overall energy-efficiency of buildings: its density, thickness and thermal conductivity make it a particularly suitable for storing passive solar energy as well as that given off by occupants of the building. Warmth takes almost 12 hours to work its way through a wall 35 centimetres thick.

The Brighton Waste House's supporters and users

The Brighton Waste House engaged the community by working with City College Brighton and Hove, and Mears Group, allowing students and apprentices a chance to work on a live construction project. It is now being used by colleagues delivering courses at the University of Brighton, including the MA in Sustainable Design, whose work involves completing and updating the live research project that is the Brighton Waste House. Many of the schools that visited the construction site now take part in creative workshops, seminars and events held at the Brighton Waste House, hosted or curated by artists, makers, designers, scientists, building contractors, or whoever wants to be involved in testing ideas around sustainable design.

The Brighton Waste House has benefitted from the support of Brighton’s Green MP, Caroline Lucas, who laid the foundation stone, and is closely linked with Brighton and Hove City Council, alongside construction and cultural organisations.

Book the Waste House

If you would like to book the Waste House for an event or would like to use our open creative studio space, please enquire with the architect and project director, Duncan Baker-Brown.

Perspex viewing strip in wall shows black and red handled toothbrushes in a jumbled heap. Part of the wall insulation in the Brighton Waste House 19,800 toothbrushes - New and used for wall cavity, north-east corner downstairs

An internal photograph of a Brighton Waste House Wall created from 10 tonnes of rammed chalk. Textured grey wall with sunlight and oblique view of signage. Wall - 10 tonnes of rammed chalk

Press Coverage

A pioneering zero carbon house in Brighton highlights – and imperatives – for sustainable design. Veronica Simpson is suitably inspired, FX page 56, 1 December 2015

Welcome Home, Habitare Brighton. 1 December 2015

The Waste House, Design Curial website, 1 December 2015

Waste house given a top design gong. The Brighton and Hove Argus. 24 April 2015

The Revolution's Here. The Sunday Times. 22 February 2015

Make do and mend. The Brighton and Hove Argus. 14 February 2015

All you need to know about the 2degrees Champions Award categories. 11 February 2015

The House That Waste Built. Cision, Global Media Intelligence. 1 January 2015

Outsourcing Christmas. The Brighton and Hove Argus. 23 December 2014

Мусорный дом — британские чудеса инженерной мысли и бережливости. 1TV Russia News. 9 December 2014

How reuse could drive the shift to a circular economy. MyGreenPod, 20 November 2014

The Brighton Waste House, A Learning Tool. Edge Condition, 20 November 2014 (pages 45-47)

Green Projector Person of the Year. The Brighton and Hove Argus, 29 October 2014

Waste house at Brighton’s disposal. Future Constructor and Architect magazine online, 19 September 2014

Britain's housing industry should learn from Brighton house built using recycled rubbish says Caroline Lucas. The Housing Excellence website, 9 September 2014

The house made from 4,000 video cassettes and two tonnes of jeans. The Guardian, 5 September 2014

"Rubbish House is great" - MP. The Brighton and Hove Argus, 30 August 2014

Dette huset er bygget av søppel. Adressa online (Norwegian), 5 August 2014

Huset er bygget utelukkende av søppel. Aftenposten online, (Norwegian), 5 August 2014

Student Works: This house made of trash teaches a lesson in green housekeeping. Archinect online, 5 August 2014

Buat Rumah Tinggal dari Sampah Daur Ulang. Analisa Daily online (Indonesian), 5 August 2014

Du gjetter aldri hva dette huset er laget av. KLIKK online (Norwegian), 4 August 2014

Brighton Waste House. REN TV (Russia), 26 July 2015

House made of recycled rubbish unveiled. Government Business magazine, 21 July 2014

Mein Haus aus Müll. Designlines, 16 July 2014

See the House That's Made of Trash. Good Housekeeping magazine online, 16 July 2014

Waste House not rubbish. The Brighton and Hove Argus, 15 July 2014

"Waste House" Uses VHS Tapes and Mom Jeans as Insulation. Popular Mechanics online, 14 July 2014

Sustainability innovators recognised in 2degrees Champions Awards. Retail Times online, 14 July 2014

Sustainability Champions Named. Environmental Leader, 14 July 2014

Brighton's waste house wins award. Latest 7 magazine online, 14 July 2014

This UK House Is Made Out Of Garbage [10 Photos]. The Roosevelts online, 10 July 2014

The house that 20,000 toothbrushes built. The Guardian, 7 July 2014

You'll Never Guess What This House Is Made Of. Refinery 29, 7 July 2014

Vent-Axia donates ventilation for Waste House. CIBSE Journal No.140701, 1 July 2014

Can waste insulate a carbon-negative house? Smart Brief online, 20 June 2014

Design Studio Constructs A House That Is Completely Made From Waste Materials. Design Taxi online, 20 June 2014

One man's garbage is another man's ... house? Gizmag online, 25 June 2015

Sacks, legs and videotape. RIBA Journal online, 15 May 2014

Brighton’s £300k rubbish house opens for Easter tours. Brighton and Hove News, 19 April 2014

Brighton Waste House open for Easter tours. Latest 7 Magazine, 19 April 2014

Case study of Waste House in Brighton | Grand Parade Campus. Architecture Student Chronicles, 15 April 2014

The house that is made out of rubbish. ITV Meridian, 16 March 2014

The house of rubbish host salt exhibit. The Brighton and Hove Argus, 4 March 2014

Waste House set to star in Brighton Festival. The Brighton and Hove Argus, 4 March 2014

Central Sussex College Visit. Crawley and Horley Observer, 15 January 2014

In order to build your dream we've had to demolish a few myths. Viva Brighton magazine, January 2014

Airport donates 20,000 toothbrushes to Brighton University building project. The Latest Magazine website, 11 November 2013

Eco House brushes up on its wall insulation. The Brighton and Hove Argus, 9 November 2013

Cavities that are worth filling. Materials Recycling World website, 27 July 2013

Waste not want not. Inside Housing website, 26 July 2013

The house that waste built. FX Magazine website, 24 July 2013

The house that waste built. World Interior Design Network website 22 July 2013

Don't reject your toothbrush. Plastics and Rubber Weekly website, 19 July 2013

Don't reject your toothbrush. Environment UK Website, 18 July 2013

Waste House featured on ITV Meridian News, July 2013

Waste House featured on local news programs on BBC and ITV. November 2012

Eco Technology Show continues to Grow. Specification Online website 10 June 2013

House project puts waste to good use. The Brighton and Hove Argus, 6 February 2013

Firms look for sponsors, The Brighton and Hove Argus, 5 February 2013

Brighton & Hove Leader, 29 November 2012

House built from waste, The Brighton and Hove Argus, 28 November 2012

House made from waste, Design Rock, 13 November 2012

The House that waste built, Acre Limited website, 13 November 2012

First building made of waste to be constructed in Brighton. Brick Development Association, 13 November 2012

'New' House in England to be made entirely from waste materials. The PRI's World website, 12 November 2012.

Homely Waste. The Brighton and Hove Argus, 2 November 2012

Brighton university campus to build eco-house on campus. The Brighton and Hove Argus, 21 October 2012

Plan to build UK's first building entirely out of waste. Environment UK website, 19 October 2012

Brighton eco-house constructed from waste to appear on Grand Designs. Home Heating Guide website, 16 October 2012

Brighton house built entirely of waste. The Brighton and Hove Argus, 9 October 2012

Construction Begins on the UK's First Building Made Completely Out of Waste. Inhabitat website, 5 October 2012

Brighton Eco-Home to be built from waste. Green Building Press website, 5 October 2012

UK's first building made entirely out of waste. Energy Live News website, 4 October 2012

Building out of waste in Britain. Britain News Net website, 03 October 2012

First house built entirely from waste set to open its doors. Edie Waste Net website. 3 October 2012

First building to be made entirely of waste to be built in Brighton. GreenWise Building News website, 3 October 2012

Plan to build UK's first building entirely out of waste. The Guardian, 3 October 2012

Brighton Waste House films

How we built the Waste House and why it matters. Green Gown Awards 2015, Built Environment Finalists

Waste House Timelapse June 2013 - May 2014

Waste House phase two documentary bulletins

Waste House Preview 1

The Rammed Earth Wall

Summer Camp (Currently unavailable)

Volunteer Camp (Currently unavailable)

Summer Camp Revisited

Mears Group Carpentry Apprentice

Baker-Brown Standing in the Waste House (Currently unavailable)

Learn about the Waste House

Paper stairs

Medium Density Fibreboard floor boards

Coffee cups and granules kitchen tops

Denim jeans

Partners and supporters

Cat Fletcher and Freegle

Mears

City College Brighton and Hove, now Greater Brighton Metropolitan College

Elliotts

Rational Windows and Doors

South Downs Solar

Travis Perkins

Kingspan

City Electrical Factors Ltd

Vent-Axia

AAC Waterproofing Ltd

Wolseley

AM Fire and Security Group

HSS Hire

Austins Cradles Ltd

Velux

University of Brighton School of Computing, Engineering and Mathematics

CNC

Sovereign Alarms Ltd

Chalmers and Co. Building Contractors

Willmott Dixon

Chandlers Building Supplies

Dupont

The Brighton Design Workshop

Light Foot LED

BHESCo

Newlife Paints

BBM Sustainable Design

BBP Consulting Engineers

Robinson Associates

Freegle

Brighton and Hove City Council

SCDF

Signs Express

Dulux

BRE