How our company started
Earthwise Construction was formed in 2004 and is run by Ben East, a long-standing environmentalist, Project Manager and qualified Carpenter. Ben holds a MSc Architecture: Advanced Energy & Environment Studies (Distinction) from the Centre for Alternative Technology, is a certified Passive House Tradesperson and a Futureproof Associate Builder trainer.
Ben’s interest in Green building began in Brighton, where he was involved in the pioneering Earthship Brighton project. The first Earthship to be built in the UK, this off-grid building heats, cools and powers itself from the sun, harvests its water from the sky and treats its wastewater onsite using plants. The project, delivered by the Low Carbon Trust, involved the design and construction of the building to demonstrate how a low carbon and low waste future could look. As the Earthship Brighton project came to a close, Ben decided to create a green building company that focused entirely on ecologically based building projects.
Towards a greener future
Since relocating to Bristol in 2013, Earthwise Construction has carried out a wide range of fantastic retrofits and timber frame new build passive house (or close to passive house) developments. We now focus on one construction project a year.
We’re proud members of the Association of Environment Conscious Building (AECB), the Green Register, and the Passivhaus Trust. We are certified by the PassivHaus Institute and members of our team are Futureproof Associate Builder Trainers, training other builders in sustainable methods.
The last few years has also seen significant growth on the ventilation side, with clients really appreciating our holistic knowledge and expertise based on our extensive practical experience of installing MVHR and DCV within our own and others’ projects.
Showroom and shop
In 2022, it made sense for us to expand into an industrial unit in Bedminster, Bristol, where we stock all our ventilation, heating and air tightness components and have a showroom. Clients can arrange a visit to the showroom to have a look at different MVHR units, ducting, DCV components, infrared heating panels, airtightness products and more. We’ve found that clients find it much easier to understand their ventilation options when they can see the elements ‘in the flesh’, and we can go through with them what could work in their home. We also now sell products via our online shop, and local eco builders can now also purchase products directly from our Bristol showroom.