Walter's Way

London

Walter Segal

Embodied Carbon

10197

kgCO₂e

kgCO₂e/m²

Barrels of Oil

Hectares of Forest

Cost

12000

117

GBP

GBP/m₂

Walter's Way is a collection of 13 houses in Lewisham, London, designed and built in the 1980s. It is considered a pioneering example of self-build housing; individuals were given the opportunity to design and construct their own homes using Walter Segal's method, rather than relying on traditional developers or contractors. Made primarily from timber-frames and wood-fibre boards, the houses involve relatively low embodied carbon.

Approaches:

community-led

self-build

Notes:

Figures for one house. Using plans from https://tmhmedia.themodernhouse.com/uploads/tmh/10841/walters_way.pdf and construction details from https://ia801302.us.archive.org/12/items/THESEGALMETHOD/THE_SEGAL_METHOD_text.pdf

References/ further links:

Phineas Harper "Walter's Way, London's Self-Built Street" [n.d.]. Architecture Foundation <https://architecturefoundation.org.uk/programme/2015/walter%E2%80%99s-way-the-anarchist-housing-estate> [accessed 26 February 2024]

About
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Embodied carbon is 'the emissions from the construction materials, the building process, [...] as well as from deconstructing and disposing of [the building] at the end of it’s lifetime' (UCL).

The figures featured on this website were calculated using Structure Workshop's Carbon Calculator v4 (unless otherwise stated).

Each case study includes carbon equivalents - the equivalent barrels of oil burnt and the equivalent hectares of US forest growth per annum to offset it. The figures these are based on are available here.

Find the carbon database here. Submit a case study here.

In future the website aims to compare 'whole life carbon' - this is 'the carbon emissions resulting from the materials, construction and the use of a building over its entire life, including its demolition and disposal' (Greater London Authority, 2022).