Mike Lawrence Email & Phone Number

My focus is on a 'Fabric First' approach to construction, making the most of the fabric of a building to manage its energy consumption in place of central heating, cooling and air conditioning.I am now working with a very exciting team dedicated to improving the sustainability of construction. They have given me free-rein to use my creativity to explore new materials, and so far I have come up with some very exciting products:MILAFOAM - this is a non-combustible mineral based foam insulation which has the same ease of use as PIR and PUR, and at a comparable cost and thermal conductivity, but is Euroclass A non-combustible, and has no emissions even in the presence of fire, making it a much safer insulation under all circumstances. The product development is being supported by an INNOVATE Smart Grant, and we hope to have it on the market by mid 2023HEMPSIL - This is my take on hemp-lime (hempcrete), only better! The binder uses considerably less water, sets fully within 2-12 hours, has a lower carbon footprint, a better strength/density ratio, and lower thermal conductivity, all the while retaining the hydrothermal, moisture and heat buffering characteristics of hemp-lime. - this is a real step-change and will allow hemp shiv insulation to go mainstream. In assiteion, the material can be made into insulation boards (think wood-wool, Pavatex, etc), and plasterboard. Patent is pending and should be published in early 2022. In the mean-time HempSil is being used in the modular ADEPT system (www.naturalbuildingsystems.com).I am also working on alternative binders which will confer more beneficial characteristics - watch this space!Other materials that are in the offing include alternative low carbon, zero toxic emission MDF type boards, with more ideas bubbling up all the time!

Listed skills include Sustainability, Lecturing, Research, Qualitative Research, and 14 others.