House for the Future, Cardiff facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The House for the Future |
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|---|---|
| Alternative names | Ty Gwyrdd |
| General information | |
| Location | St Fagans National History Museum, Cardiff, Wales |
| Coordinates | 51°29′12″N 3°16′18″W / 51.4868°N 3.2717°W |
| Opened | 2000 |
The House for the Future, also known as Ty Gwyrdd (which means 'Green House' in Welsh), is a special modern house. You can find it at the St Fagans National History Museum in Cardiff, Wales.
This house was finished in the year 2000. It was built to show off the newest "green" building ideas and technologies. These are ways to build houses that are good for the environment. Later, the house became a place for learning, used as an education centre.
Contents
Building the House for the Future
The idea for the House for the Future came from a team effort. The National Museum of Wales, BBC Wales, and a company called Redrow Homes worked together. They wanted to design a house that was good for the planet and could change as a family's needs changed.
They held a competition to find the best design. Many people wanted to help, and a company from London called Jestico & Whiles won.
Challenges in Building
Redrow Homes was in charge of building the house. They had a budget of £120,000. But because many parts of the house were very new and not easy to find, the costs went up. For example, the special oak frame and the green roof were quite unique.
The house was finished in December 2000. The whole building process was even shown in three TV programmes on the BBC.
A Family's Experience
After the house was built, a competition was held to choose a family to live in it for one week. The Powell family from Bridgend won! They really liked the open kitchen area. However, they found the bedrooms a bit tricky and had some problems with the computer controls that ran parts of the house.
The house was officially opened in April 2001 by Jenny Randerson, who was a minister for culture in Wales.
Awards and Opinions
The House for the Future won several awards for its design. These included the National Homebuilder Design Award in 2001 and the Welsh Housing Design award in 2002.
However, some people also had different opinions. A newspaper called The Telegraph said that Redrow Homes was building other houses nearby that were not at all like the eco-friendly house they had helped create.
Cool Features of the House
The house was designed to be super eco-friendly. It aimed to produce zero carbon dioxide emissions. This means it was built to not add to climate change.
Here are some of the cool features it had:
- Local Materials: They used materials found nearby as much as possible. Even the earth dug out for the foundations was used to make bricks!
- Green Roof: The roof was covered with special plants called Sedum. This helps with insulation and collects rainwater.
- Rainwater Collection: The house collected rainwater to use for things like flushing toilets or watering plants.
- Solar Power: Special panels on the roof used sunlight to create electricity and heat water.
- Ground Source Heating: A Ground source heat pump used heat from the ground to warm the house, along with underfloor heating.
- Smart Windows: Large windows on the south side let in lots of sunlight to warm the house. They also had automatic shutters that closed when it got too hot.
- Flexible Design: The inside of the house could be changed easily. This meant it could work for people with different needs, and adapt as a family grew or changed.
- Natural Insulation: The walls were insulated using natural materials like sheep's wool and old newspapers.
- Voice-Activated Lights: The lights were energy-saving and could be turned on or off just by speaking!
From Future Home to Learning Centre
After about ten years, many of the "futuristic" ideas in the house became more common. For example, recycling was now normal, and most homes used energy-saving lightbulbs. Some of the other systems, like the solar panels, were still quite expensive for regular homes.
Because the house's technology was no longer quite so "future-like," plans were made in 2009 to change it. It became an education centre, renamed Ty Gwyrdd ('Green House'). Here, people could learn about environmental topics.
For a while, when the main museum building was being updated, Ty Gwyrdd was even used as the museum's gift shop!
