泰晤士河畔的软木住宅丨MPH建筑事务所等

在泰晤士河的一座小岛上，五座银灰色的“金字塔”从周围的树木与灌木丛中浮现出身影，形成一种线性的结构韵律，与远处伊顿公学教堂的哥特式外观形成共鸣。再走近一些，来到第一座金字塔下的室外前厅时，人们将认知到这一结构的独特性：墙体仅由大块的实心软木连接而成，其结构、隔层、外部表面和内部内部装饰均是同一种事物。

On a small island in the Thames, five silver-grey pyramids emerge from the surrounding trees and undergrowth, forming a linear structural rhythm that resonates with the Gothic silhouette of Eton College Chapel in the distance.  At close quarters, standing in the outdoor anteroom underneath the first pyramid, the building starts to be understood as a unique construction – the walls are simply large interlocking blocks of solid cork, in which structure, insulation, external surface and internal finish are all one and the same thing.

▼项目概览，general view © David Grandorge

望向上方的软木屋顶，可以最为直观地感受到材料、形式与结构在项目中的完全融合。这种纯压缩式的建筑语言虽新颖却不至于让人感到陌生：它是一种对古老石砌结构（例如凯尔特人的蜂巢房，甚至于玛雅寺庙）的简单建造原则的重新想象。整块的软木替代了石头，为简单而清晰的几何形式增添了一份温暖的感觉。

It is looking upwards into the corbelled cork roof above that the total integration of material, form and construction is most legible. The resultant architectural language of pure compression is new and yet familiar – a progressive reimagining of the simple construction principles of ancient stone structures, such as Celtic beehive houses or even Mayan temples.  The monolithic use of cork in place of stone adds warmth to the formal simplicity and geometric clarity.

▼软木住宅外观，Cork house exterior view © Ricky Jones

▼屋顶视角，rooftop view © Ricky Jones

在建筑内部，裸露的实心软木块创造了一种唤醒感官的环境——墙壁摸上去十分柔软，甚至闻上去很香；声音柔和而平静，应和着优美而令人赞叹的光影。为了与软木形成和谐的搭配，空间中的其余部分均选用了木材：结构梁、门楣、窗户和门使用了染黑的固雅木；定制家具使用交叉层压云杉木；手工凳子使用英国pippy橡木；地板采用了实心橡木并通过黄铜螺丝固定，方便拆卸。在使用大面积软木与木材创造的环境中，黄铜构件与台面创造出丰富的体验，铜制的洒水管在挑檐的阴影下闪烁着微光。

▼裸露的实心软木，the exposed solid cork blocks © Alex de Rijke

Internally, the exposed solid cork blocks create an evocative sensory environment – walls are gentle to the touch and even smell good, the acoustic is soft and calm, and shadows are praised as much as the quality of light.  The primary use of cork is complemented by the consistent use of timber for almost everything else: black-stained Accoya for structural beams, lintels, windows and doors; bespoke furniture in cross-laminated spruce; handmade stools from English pippy oak; and floorboards in cross-sawn solid oak that are fixed with brass screws to allow for ease of disassembly. Against the atmospheric setting created by the combination of expanded cork and timber, solid brass fittings and work surfaces create moments of richness, and copper sprinkler pipes gleam in the shade of the roof corbels.

▼室内空间，interior view © Magnus Dennis

▼起居室，living room © Magnus Dennis

▼厨房，kitchen © Magnus Dennis

▼黄铜构件与台面创造出丰富的体验，solid brass fittings and work surfaces create moments of richness © Magnus Dennis

▼卧室，bedroom © Magnus Dennis

▼室内细节，interior details © Magnus Dennis

该项目关注建筑的坚固性、简洁度与可持续性，是对现代房屋建造的复杂性与惯例性的一种创新性的回应。软木住宅摒弃了典型的复杂、多层且包含一系列建筑材料、产品和专业分支体系的维护结构，试图通过单一的生物可再生材料来构筑坚固的墙壁和屋顶。膨胀软木和工程木材被构想为工具套装中的组件，可以在预制之后送至现场进行人工组装，并且不需要使用灰泥或粘合剂，犹如一个巨大且有机的乐高系统。

▼设计概念，concept © Matthew Barnett Howland

With a focus on what is solid, simple and sustainable, the project is an inventive response to the complexities and conventions of modern house construction.  Rather than the typical complex, layered building envelope incorporating an array of building materials, products and specialist sub-systems, the Cork House is an attempt to make solid walls and roof from a single bio-renewable material.  Conceived as a kit-of-parts, blocks of expanded cork and engineered timber components are prefabricated off-site and assembled by hand on-site without mortar or glue – like a giant organic LEGO® system.

▼软木住宅试图通过单一的生物可再生材料来构筑坚固的墙壁和屋顶 © Magnus Dennis the Cork House is an attempt to make solid walls and roof from a single bio-renewable material

▼卧室，bedroom © Magnus Dennis

该住宅使用的最新版本的自建造系统由MPH建筑事务所、UCL巴特莱特学院、巴斯大学、Amorim UK和Ty-Mawr共同开发，项目分包商包括Arup和BRE等。本项研究由 Innovate UK和EPSRC在2015年以“建筑全寿命性能”竞赛的名义提供部分资金支持。研发过程涵盖对结构性能、雨水渗透与火灾的深度测试，并借助两个原型结构来建立建筑系统的实际性能。

▼可拆卸的设计，design for disassembly © Matthew Barnett Howland

The house uses an evolved version of a self-build construction system developed by MPH Architects, The Bartlett School of Architecture UCL, University of Bath, Amorim UK and Ty-Mawr, with subcontractors including Arup and BRE. The research was part-funded by Innovate UK and EPSRC under the 2015 Building Whole Life Performance funding competition.  The R&D process included in-depth laboratory tests for structural performance, rain penetration and fire, with two prototype structures used to establish the real-life performance of the construction system.

▼鸟瞰，aerial view © Phil Broom

▼屋顶接合处细节，roof joint detailed view © David Grandorge; Alex de Rijke

▼天窗，skylights © Phil Broom

从收集资源到寿命终止，软木住宅体现了强大的全生命周期的可持续建造方法。膨胀软木是一种纯生物材料，由软木林业的废料制成。软木橡树的树皮每9年进行一次人工采集，且不会对树木和森林造成伤害。这种温和的农工业使地中海软木橡树的景观得以维持，并且能够提供丰富的生物多样性栖息地，因而受到了广泛的认可。

The Cork House embodies a strong whole life approach to sustainability, from resource through to end-of-life. Expanded cork is a pure bio-material made with waste from cork forestry. The bark of the cork oak is harvested by hand every nine years without harming the tree or disturbing the forest.  This gentle agro-industry sustains the Mediterranean cork oak landscapes, providing a rich biodiverse habitat that is widely recognised.

▼材料细节，material © Matthew Barnett Howland

▼软木预装配，assembly © Matthew Barnett Howland

膨胀软木独特的生态性在建筑生命周期的另一端也得到了展现。采用干式连接的建筑系统十分便于拆卸，因而构成住宅的1268块软木可以在建筑使用周期结束时被回收以重新使用，或使其返回生物圈。

This compelling ecological origin of expanded cork is mirrored at the opposite end of the building’s lifecycle. The construction system is dry-jointed and designed for disassembly, so that all 1,268 blocks of cork can be reclaimed at end-of-building-life for re-use, recycling, or returning to the biosphere.

▼软木住宅生命周期，cork house lifecycle © Matthew Barnett Howland

除了便捷性和可持续性外，软木住宅在碳排放方面也拥有出色的性能。经过Sturgis碳分析评估表明，该住宅在建成时隐含碳值为负，是其评估过的全生命周期碳排放最低的建筑。

Alongside this simple and sustainable lifecycle narrative, the Cork House exhibits outstanding performance in relation to carbon emissions.  A Whole Life Carbon Assessment by Sturgis Carbon Profiling showed that the Cork House is embodied carbon negative at completion, and has the lowest whole life carbon of any building they have assessed.

▼住宅外观，exterior view © Magnus Dennis

▼户外景观，outdoor landscape details © Magnus Dennis; David Grandorge

“如果将软木住宅比作出版物，那么它将是一份宣言或者具有指导意义的手册。它通过一面反映着全生命周期可持续性的棱镜——从设计到拆除——从根本上重新定义了建筑和建造的过程。”——Catherine Slessor，《观察者》

“If Cork House were a book, it would be a manifesto or polemical tract that aimed to radically reframe the processes of architecture and construction through the prism of whole life sustainability, from design to demolition.”  Catherine Slessor, The Observor

▼场地鸟瞰，aerial view © 

▼模型，model ©David Grandorge

▼场地平面图，site plan © Matthew Barnett Howland

▼平面图，plan © Matthew Barnett Howland

▼立面图，elevation © Matthew Barnett Howland

▼软木单元切割示意，cutter – block design © Matthew Barnett Howland

▼轴测分解图，axon exploded © Matthew Barnett Howland

▼结构细部，construction details © Matthew Barnett Howland

Notes: Cork House was designed by Matthew Barnett Howland with Dido Milne (CSK Architects) and Oliver Wilton (UCL) Photography by Alex de Rijke, David Grandorge, Magnus Dennis and Ricky Jones