The first Kitahaus relocatable living and office pods

* The structure uses sheep’s wool insulation, which doesn’t have the high levels of embodied energy (energy required to manufacture and therefore the quantity of carbon created during production) associated with chemical insulations.

* Vacuum tube solar water heaters will meet all of the classrooms’ hot water needs, reducing the need for a fossil fuel heating. Vacuum tube solar water heaters have a higher efficiency than flat plate solar panels and can be rotated to optimize the sun’s rays.

* The installation will use a grey water collection tank. Water collected from sinks in the art room will be used to water the gardens.

* Flat plate solar panels will be utilised to run low energy lighting.

* Only biodegradable soaps and detergents will be used in the school to reduce heavy metal building up in the soil or water table.

* The Pods are positioned on timber stilts to ensure minimal impact to the natural landscape. When the building comes to the end of its lifespan, it can be removed with little impact to the natural landscape and the building can be recycled and reused for new construction.

"Quite obviously, the Kitahaus concept has developed considerably since your original article two years ago", said designer Robert Gaukroger.

"Since we last spoke I have developed the pod to achieve its role as a class room and while keeping it sustainable I have enlarged the size to the maximum that can be carried in one piece on the road."

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