AN innovative cafe at a Hereford college has won a national award.
The Straw Bale Cafe building for Herefordshire College of Technology won the best technical innovation award at the 2011 LABC National Building Excellence Awards.
The judges chose the project because of its use of unusual materials and construction techniques.
The new refectory building used local materials where possible, including western red cedar from the college estate and 60 straw bales, with any waste composted or used as animal bedding.
The straw is so effective as insulation that very little heating or cooling is required, and the building generates 6kW through solar and wind power. It is also easily dismantled and the plan is to recycle its components within 20 years.
Other local winners included the Large Barn in Longtown which won the award for best domestic conversion for its transformation from an advanced state of disrepair into a contemporary home.
Picture: Members of the project team from the Straw Bale Cafe building for Herefordshire College of Technology with Roger Bullivant’s John Patch (far left), LABC President Mike Sansom (fourth from left) and presenter Jon Snow (far right).
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