Prince Charles Unveils the ‘Natural House’, an Eco-Prototype for UK Homes

Since the <a href="http://inhabitat.com/prince-charles-to-become-slumlord-millionaire-of-eco-community-in-india/">Prince</a> isn't likely to become King, he's been hard at work through his <a href="http://www.princes-foundation.org/" target="_blank">Foundation for the Built Environment</a> to further sustainable development and green building. His latest project has been to develop an eco-blueprint for UK homes - "a prototype for viable, sustainable, volume housing, which delivers low carbon homes that provide comfortable, attractive, healthy and adaptable environments for their occupants." In May 2011 a model of the home debuted at the <a href="http://www.idealhomeshow.co.uk/" target="_blank">Ideal Home Show</a>, and just yesterday another version, the <a href="http://www.bre.co.uk/page.jsp?id=2075" target="_blank">Natural House</a>, was unveiled at the <a href="http://www.bre.co.uk/" target="_blank">BRE Innovation Park</a> in Watford. The Natural House was developed with the help of <a href="http://www.natural-building.co.uk/" target="_blank">Natural Building Technologies</a> and <a href="http://www.kingerleehomes.co.uk/" target="_blank">Kingerlee Homes</a>, and is a classic Georgian-style home featuring clay blocks, sustainably sourced (FSC) timber, sheep wool insulation and a tight envelope of wood fiber.

The Prince checks in on construction of the Natural House.

The Natural House is a two-story villa with a traditional terraced-house building form designed and built to serve as an example for the most effective route to a low energy, low carbon building is through an effective building envelope

The home was constructed using NBT ThermoPlan®, which is an extruded clay block building system that is highly insulative because of the air pockets, and the NBT Pavatex woodfibre and Thermafleece sheep's wool insulation.

Passive stack insulation helps move fresh cool air into the home in the warmer months and high ceilings and triple-paned windows infuse the home in daylight.

The roof is covered in durable clay tiles and the floors and windows made from FSC certified timber.

A diagram detailing the home's energy efficiency strategies.

So far the home has been built twice - once for the Ideal Home Show in May, where the Prince debuted his prototype and now at the BRE Innovation Park, where the Natural Home will undergo a program of testing and assessment.

The Prince's House at the Ideal Home Show.

Interior images of the Prince's House at the Ideal Home Show.

The prototype can be modified for a range of home types and family needs including reconfiguration as a family homes, maisonettes or smaller flats.

Natural, non-toxic materials and non-mechanical ventilation is utilized throughout to provide a healthy indoor environment.

Durability and longevity were also high priorities and the home is expected to last over 200 years.

Floorplan for the Prince's House.