Skuta Alpine Shelter - Prefab Modular Mountain House

Drawing

Video

About OFIS Architects

Architects: AKT II, ​​Harvard GSD Students, OFIS Architects
Year: 2015
Photographs: Anze Cokl, Andrej Gregoric, Janez Martincic
Location: Zgornje Jezersko, Slovenia
Manufacturers: Guardian Glass, Rieder Group
Structural Engineering: AKT II, ​​London, United Kingdom; Hanif Kara; Edward Wilkes
Structural Engineer Local: Projecta, Milan Sorc
Engineering And Consulting: Freeapproved, Anze Cokl
Realization and Local Coordination: PD Ljubljana Matica, Slovenia; Matevz Jerman; Davor Rozman
Façade: Rieder Smart Elements, Austria; Wolfgang Rieder; Matthias Kleibel
Glass: Guardian, USA; Domen Komac
Bivouac Maintenance Representatives: Matevz Jerman; Davor Rozman
Main Contractor: Permiz d.o.o., Slovenia; Bostjan Perme
Anchoring and Fixing: Hilti, Slovenia
Thermal Installations and Fire Safety: ROCKWOOL stone wool
Construction Team: Alpinist section PD Ljubljana Matica, Visinska dela Orti; Team: Matevz Jerman, Jernej Ortar, Blaz Ortar, Davor Rozman, Natasa Vodopivec, Matevz Kastrin, Boris Mance, Boris Bokavsek, Luka Klemencic, Ziga Asic, Jernej Knop, Anze Klaric, Uros Grilj, Marko Granda, Boštjan Oblak
Helicopter flights: Slovenian Army - Tomaz Perse, Primoz Pintar, Andrej Groselj, Peter Smrkolj; Installation Support: Mountain Rescue Association of Slovenia, GRZS - Brane Zorz, Tadej Mrak, Bojan Goli
Client: PD Ljubljana Matica




The prefab modular mountain house project developed by an architectural design studio at Harvard Graduate School of Design led by Rok Oman and Spela Videcnik of OFIS. In the fall of 2014, studios of thirteen students faced the challenges of designing an innovative, yet practical, prefab house/shelter to meet the extreme needs of the alpine climate. Inspired by Slovenian vernacular architecture with its rich and diverse architectural heritage, students produced twelve proposals that met various terrain conditions, material considerations, and programmatic concerns were produced and cataloged.

The extreme climatic conditions in the mountains introduced a design challenge for architects, engineers and designers.

Within a context of extreme risk to environmental forces, it is important to design buildings that can withstand extreme weather conditions, radical temperature changes and rugged terrain. Responding to environmental conditions is not only a protective measure, but also translates into an issue of immediate safety of life. The harsh conditions of wind, snow, landslides, terrain and climate demand a response of specific architectural forms and conceptual projects.

120 years after the installation of the Aljaz Tower in August 1895 in Triglav, this new prefab modular shelter was inserted under the Skuta mountain in the Kamnik Alps. It replaces the old 50-year-old camp that was previously on site.

The camp is an object that represents a basic human need, a shelter. It is a symbol of refuge. The exterior shape and the choice of materials were made to respond to the extreme conditions of the mountain, and also provide views of the stunning landscape.

Its implantation in the wild requires respect for natural resources and, therefore, it should be implanted in a light and safe way to ensure that the shelter was strongly anchored with minimal impact on the terrain. In addition, the outer layer needed to be made of a highly resistant material, together with fiberglass and concrete elements for the facade, which were able to meet all the requirements of aesthetics, material quality and the challenge of withstanding the harsh conditions.

The interior design imposes modesty, totally subordinated to the function of the shelter providing accommodation for up to eight climbers.

Inspired by traditional alpine architecture by constructive elements, materials, structure and form, the design scheme made by students Frederick Kim, Katie MacDonald and Erin Pellegrino was selected. After the end of the school semester, OFIS architects and AKT ll structural engineers continued to develop and adapt the project for the given terrain, responding to other contributions from climbers, Anze Cokl, Milan Sorc and other engineers and led the project to the throughout the planning phase.

The design consists of three prefab modules, partly to allow transportation and also to divide the space programmatically. The first is dedicated to entry, storage and a small space for food preparation. The second provides space for both to sleep and socialize while the third has a bunk area for sleeping. Windows at both ends offer beautiful panoramic views of the valley and Skuta Mountain.

Due to the nature of the installation process, the prefab mountain house was designed as a series of modules, so that it can be brought in parts to the mountain. The entire prototype was built off-site, in a workshop. The modules were designed as a series of robust frames, which would be structured together on site, providing a manageable installation and a less invasive base. In order to disturb the terrain on the mountain as little as possible, the modules are secured with strategically placed pin connections, which also act as the foundation on the ground. Glass is a triple panel system that has been designed to withstand heavy loads of wind and snow. The camp was set up by Ljubljana Matica under the direction of Matevz Jerman, with transport by helicopter with support from the Slovenian Armed Forces and a Mountain Rescue Service team - Ljubljana Station. The entire transport and installation process was carried out in one day.




Although the scale of the prefab modular mountain house is small, the project required a lot of effort and planning from more than sixty participants who were mostly volunteers and sponsors. Everyone agrees that, despite the small size, the project was no less demanding than any major construction project. However, all the effort and planning for this small-scale project is aimed at maintaining the memory, spirit and culture of the mountains as a special place for Slovenians. The hope is that the modular house will serve as a shelter for all climbers in need, and that through their care and attention to the camp they will continue to use it for many years.

Modular system allows to build houses among trees without cutting them

Floor plans and drawings

About Rebelo de Andrade Architecture & Design

Location: Vila Pouca de Aguiar, Portugal
Architects: Luís Rebelo de Andrade
Area: 55 m²
Year: 2015
Photographs: Fernando Guerra | FG + SG
Project Team: Luis Rebelo de Andrade, Diogo Aguiar, Raquel Jorge, Pedro Baptista Dias, Madalena Rebelo de Andrade
Structural Design: Modular System
Infrastructure Project: Scarlety Engenharia
Construction: Modular System
Project Coordination: VMPS - Eng. Vasco Portal




Eco Houses are born from a double conceptual root. On the one hand, the profitability of the Parque de Pedras Salgadas as a hotel tourism project, makes the option of rehabilitating the existing hotel or building a new one, becoming a project as slow as it is expensive.

On the other hand, the organic nature of the park ends up suggesting the implementation of these bungalows, of reduced dimensions compared to a conventional hotel and of much easier concealment in the existing grove.

Their main feature is their modularity. This fundamental feature continually transforms the experience of those who inhabit it. Any of the houses - made up of entrance and bathroom + living room + bedroom - allowed for a multitude of very different provisions, which resulted in the possibility of implementing them without having to cut any of the existing trees. Each house, in fact, coexists with a specific set of trees and integrates into this ecosystem without disturbing it. These are houses that, ultimately, want to be confused with trees. They want to be trees.

Although they do not differ from each other - an option due to the need to establish an atmosphere of security for guests - the versatility of the structure allows the relationship between public space and private space to be balanced and justified. The modules and decks are oriented so as not to impair the privacy of their occupants. Covered with slate plates, the feeling is that they are as old and organic as the park itself.

Gomos System Modular Prefab Reinforced Concrete Homes

Drawings, floor plans

About Gomos System

About SUMMARY

About Farcimar

Architects	SUMMARY
Area	998 m² (10742 ft²)
Location	Cambra Valley, Portugal
Year	2019
Photographs	Fernando Guerra | FG + SG
Manufacturers	FTS - Technical Solutions, Farcimar
Project Team	Samuel Gonçalves, Inês Rodrigues, João Meira, Gonçalo Vaz de Carvalho
Building Structures And Networks	FTS - Technical Solutions
Electricity and Communications	Aproj
Pre Fabrication And Assembly	Farcimar, Precast Concrete Solutions

After making a prototype and exhibiting at the Venice Biennale, SUMMARY presents a new project, using exclusively prefabricated and modular construction systems. The requirements of this project were clear and were defined from the first moment: the construction would have to be fast, economical and modifiable over time, depending on the different needs that could arise. The content of this order led the studio to use prefabricated elements and to leave parts of the project undefined, assuming the speed of construction, flexibility and optimization of resources as central themes.

The two programs that make up the building are positioned on two different floors: the ground floor is occupied by multifunctional service areas, in direct contact with the public road; the upper floor is intended for housing units (six 45m² rooms). An independent access is created for each of these programs, positioned at different levels, taking advantage of the natural slope of the terrain. Prefabricated structural panels perimetrically delimit and support the ground floor, which was designed to allow changing the layout and number of the interior partition walls, or simply eliminating them, transforming this whole area into a large open space.

The upper floor is entirely composed of modules from the Gomos System. Considering that the maximum area to be built legally allowed was very limited, the required empty space is used as a separator of the various housing units. Conceived and licensed as a fraction of collective housing, with these separations, this part of the project incorporates the main advantages of single-family housing: clearly individualized entrances and a complete acoustic separation between the different units.

The prefabricated reinforced concrete, predominant in the structure and composition of the building, is assumed to be visible in all its extension (inside and outside), without paintings or coatings, a fact that contributes to the reduction of costs and the environmental impact of this construction, by the suppression of additional materials and labor inherent in its application. This economy of resources and workforce also results in an accelerated construction process: the different components of the building are completed in the factory and are assembled in site in their final shape and finish, while solving structural, insulation and cladding issues.

Scandinavian Modular House Concept, Denmark

Construction Process

Floor Plans

About Njordrum

With the idea of reduction and minimal spaces in mind, the Danish architecture firm Njordrum is working on innovative proposals for housing. Exploring modularity and Scandinavian aesthetics, the firm seeks to synthesize architecture, nature, natural light and people.

Believing in the importance of architecture instead of valuing its dimensions, Njordrum is implementing a system that initially starts with a 45 sqm module, designed to work independently, but that has the possibility of creating different configurations when combined with other modules.




The proposal is based on modular houses closely connected to nature. The interiors are, therefore, as natural as the exterior. In fact, the architects explain that "when you have light, space and a strong relationship between interior and exterior, the amount of square meters is no longer essential to define whether the house is perceived as large or small".

"The project was carefully developed to be flexible, so that the modules can connect without compromising architecture or nature". - Martin Wienberg, partner at Njordrum

Sustainability and integrated design are core values of this project. To match the constant changes in material, location and lifestyle, Njordrum expands the limits of flexibility, proposing an architecture that can change its size and needs. His designs are also mobile, without, however, compromising the quality of the architecture.

“This is the philosophy on which our concept is based; modular housing designed by architects - houses connected to the outside, joining building and nature to an architectural whole. Make leaving as natural as entering. "- Martin Wienberg, partner at Njordrum

New Modular IKEA Store - car-free and green, Vienna, Austria

About IKEA Austria

About querkraft architects

IKEA Austria has plans to build a new store in the heart of Vienna. With no vacancies for cars, the project addresses, in some way, emerging global issues, taking into account changes in the behavior of its clients and urban mobility.

The IKEA Westbahnhof is accessible only by public transport, bicycle or on foot. Designed by Vienna's querkraft architekten office, the store's four facades and roof will be covered with vegetation. Defining a new meeting point in the dense city center, the store is located at the end of Mariahilferstrasse, the main shopping street in the center.

Accessible on foot from all points of the two metro lines that pass under the building, IKEA Vienna Westbahnhof is meeting the mobility standards of the local population. The building will house, in addition to the IKEA store on its first four floors, small commercial establishments on the ground floor, creating an active facade, a hostel on the upper 2 floors and a roof garden.

Green, in accordance with the human scale, modular, the IKEA store seeks to become a landmark in Vienna. The transparency of the closings creates a welcoming aspect, in addition to offering unconventional showcase and showcase opportunities. The project team seeks to obtain BREEAM Excellent certification for the building, and, for that, plans to plant 160 trees that can lower the building's internal temperature by up to 2ºC.

Description by IKEA

Innovative and environmentally friendly

The concept focuses on the current megatrends and takes into account the dramatically changed shopping behavior as well as a new form of mobility without a car. Customers have little time and appreciate convenience and comfort. This is clearly noticeable in the furnishing area: More and more customers no longer even think about carrying their purchases home themselves. You can have them delivered. This is of course also being promoted by the boom in online ordering. IKEA at Westbahnhof does this: All products that are larger than “small items” are delivered to your home within a maximum of 24 hours.

The whole modular store is geared towards pedestrians, subway and tram drivers and cyclists - there is no space for cars. There is a lot of experience, gastronomy, space to stroll and look and more green than a park in this area could offer. 160 trees will ensure a more pleasant microclimate on the modular store. The modular building was designed by the Viennese architecture firm querkraft architekten in close connection with the specialists from IKEA.

What happens next?

On April 6, we were able to resume construction work with appropriate precautions - our Covid-19 measures follow the "Instructions of the social partners for dealing with construction sites due to COIVD-19" from March 26, 2020. The construction company takes care of the safety precautions for the construction workers (protective equipment, minimum distance, number of people in one place, hygiene regulations).

Next, the excavated material is lifted out of the basement areas and transported away below the concrete cover.

The construction site is well secured and surrounded by a construction fence, the tram stop remains. It only changed from a double to a single stop.

For the residents there is - as far as possible - current information and contact addresses (email and phone) for suggestions and complaints.

After completion of the work, IKEA will also finance the construction of a recreation area that is attractive to the neighbors. This is regulated in the context of an urban development contract.

What should the new house look like:

IKEA at Westbahnhof should become the meeting point for the whole district. In the furniture store itself, which extends over several floors, interior design ideas and the entire IKEA range are shown in an innovative way. There is room for inspiration and chilling. What will not exist is a traditional furniture store, because all larger items will be delivered directly to your home from the new logistics center in Strebersdorf.




More than 250 employees provide competent advice and a pleasant atmosphere. In addition, the modular house also offers areas that can be used by the public. And of course Swedish gastronomy, a direct connection to the public transport network and lots of greenery on all parts of the facade - including a cozy roof terrace that is also accessible outside of IKEA opening hours and invites you to linger, chat or have a coffee. A Accor JO & JOE brand hostel moves into the top two floors.

On Mariahilfer Straße, the façade on the ground floor area has been set back to create an arcade and, above all, a sidewalk that is twice as wide as before. This increases safety in the tram stop area and makes strolling more pleasant. The connection to ÖBB Bahnhof City should also be more open and inviting.

Emergency Modular Hospitals - Projects for COVID-19 Pandemic

Alternative healthcare facilities: architects mobilize to fight COVID-19

As healthcare infrastructure is overwhelming and hospitals around the world are reaching their capabilities, alternative possibilities emerge. In response to the shortage of beds and the saturation of facilities, architects around the world are taking action in the ongoing fight against the coronavirus. Focusing their knowledge to find fast and efficient design solutions that can be implemented anywhere, they propose flexible, quickly assembled, mobile and simple structures. With a tight schedule, some projects are already implemented and in service, while others remain on a conceptual level, waiting to be adopted.

Although overall, the planning guidelines for new hospitals dictate that 15-20% of spaces should be dedicated to communicable diseases, most facilities worldwide could not have anticipated a pandemic of this scale. As a result, Carlo Ratti has converted shipping containers into intensive care units, consisting of fast-mounting, easy-to-move and safe units. CURA, a secure isolation room, containing all the necessary medical equipment, has its first prototype ready. In the Philippines, the WTA established 60 emergency quarantine facilities. Temporary structures made of wood and plastic can be replicated anywhere to increase the capacity of hospitals. Other more conceptual approaches include mobile units designed by startup JUPE HEALTH, rapidly deployed rest and recovery units, as well as mobile ICUs. At "1/30 the cost of a hospital room," they're designed and built for doctors by doctors, and can be shipped anywhere.




On the other hand, in New York, officials, who anticipate the need for 10 times the existing rooms, seek to generate useful spaces for patients by altering the capacity of existing structures or converting buildings with a different program, such as office spaces, stadiums, convention centers, etc., which already have the basic required amenities, such as HVAC and adequate treatment infrastructure. Additionally, to help identify suitable alternative sites for patient care, the American Institute of Architects has released a new design guide from its COVID-19 Task Force, a quick assessment to recognize compatible buildings that can support care operations. In line with this logic, Opposite Office has proposed to transform the New Berlin airport, under construction since 2006, into a "super hospital" for patients with coronavirus. The adaptive reuse alternative can be implemented at any airport in the world, since traffic is limited and restricted.

In addition, specialized architecture companies such as MASS published guidelines to limit contagion in the Tents COVID-19. In founding his research on past epidemics, MASS explains that the risk of cross contamination is high when people are in tight places. To limit disease transmission, 3 main ideas should be adopted: limit the spread of drops between people, designing distances between people of 6 or more to avoid direct contact with respiratory drops; mitigate contagion through surfaces, identifying, cleaning and disinfecting high contact surfaces; and control of airborne infections by preventing, diluting, and removing contaminated air.

To highlight different design approaches, inspire creative solutions and encourage quick responses, we have brought together 10 architectural platform initiatives that address current issues, each presenting a novelty and introducing a different concept. A space protocol, an urban quarantine camp, emergency medical shelters, fast-building hospitals made from recycled shipping containers and inflatable fabrics, low-cost mobile facilities, hospital ships, and personal protective spaces for doctors, among others.

Adapta

Mobile PPS

KAKSH

Modular Emergency Hospital

Hospital Ships

Mobile Hospital

Rescue Center

CNC Medical Emergency Module

Foldable Emergency Shelter

Prefab Houses Built in 3 Days by JB Villan, Sweden

Villa Vallmo

High-Efficient Prefab House

160 sqm Prefab House

165 sqm Prefab House

180 sqm Prefab House

150 sqm Prefab House

140 sqm Prefab House

175 sqm Prefab House

60 sqm Prefab House

190 sqm Prefab House

180 sqm Prefab House

155 sqm Prefab House

About JB Villan

RhOME Prefab House - Simple, Durable and Sustainable

Architectural Concept

Engineering and Construction

Project participants

Rhome (A Home for Rome) is a part of a program of the city planning to regenerate the neighborhood of the Tor Fiscale, replacing in particular illegal settlements with efficient and ecological prefab housing. On these recovered spaces a small communities with neat aesthetics must set up. The ground floor consists of a reinforced concrete seating on which rest the four floors in wood frame, for a total of 12 apartments. These are distributed around a central column housing the technical services for kitchens, bathrooms, ventilation, etc. The peculiarity of Rhome is to integrate solar panels on the roof and in facade. Photovoltaic modules are also integrated into removable details of the main windows. The design team presented in Versailles a prefab house (one apartment of 60 sqm) which representes a part of the last level of the building.




Photovoltaic modules covers a continuous strip from the slope of the roof to the foot of the facade, on the south facade of the prototype. The chosen technology is Solbian's flexible monocrystalline modules because of their light weight and good resistance to hostile conditions (salt water, shocks, etc.). The photovoltaic facade panel can be raised by 15° to be placed in the extension of the roof modules, in order to increase the productivity of the system.

The new urban standard

The world is called to solve the challenge of the balance between development and resource consumption, and this change is entrusted to the city, which must be able to change the way they manage population growth, energy use and administration of the territory. Lately, news reports have highlighted the critical issues related to the city that governs itself through methodologies related to a society that is no longer there. New technologies, the different way of living social relations, new utilities, require a new way of enjoying the city and its spaces.

Historically, social changes were associated with a crisis of the cities, which had to change their way of being planned and lived, in order to solve the problems. Currently many such solutions have been proposed and implemented among difficulties and successes, but they need to be empowered in order to ensure that the planning and direction of the future towns are based on these values. The RhOME project accepts the challenge and takes the opportunity to define and propose new planning standards, adapted to the needs of a modern, multi-ethnic and different society.

For example, the current legislation ensures that 18 square meters per person will be dedicated to urban standards; 2.5 square meters of these are for parking. To encourage mobility slow this standard is too high and also exacerbates the problems of overbuilding. The process then starts from reviewing the current data to which add new features, like the ability for everyone to have an internet connection, to have clean energy and to re-use what it produces and consumes. Currently we are focusing on quantifying those standards.

RE-USE – Why “One thing leads to another”

The smart city is facing an environmental and economic sustainable reform of production processes and resource management, in an environmental and economic direction. This revolution feeds on concepts such as integration, interdependence and the “closed loop“. There is no waste, but resources. Eco- products that can be processed, consumed, abandoned and refed into the production cycle in other forms, in the logic that “ one thing leads to another.”

At the base of the crisis of consumptions, there is a “linear” model production, high waste of energy and natural resources. The products resulting from these resources, at the end of their life cycle become waste. The high cost required for their disposal, resource scarcity and price volatility have undermined this system. One response to this difficulty comes from the realization of an “circular” economy, based on reuse and regeneration values.

In order to become innovation, it must be the result of a new conception of the production process of goods, as well as their design. The basic conception of this innovation process is the will to reduce the production of waste by re-inserting the components of a product in production cycles, thereby limiting the dependence on natural resources. The beneficiaries of the assets are no longer seen as consumers, but as users. This means that unless a product has to be changed for its reuse, faster will be its reinstatement in the process. Also it can be reused several times, and its potential savings will be higher. Product innovation starts then by the choice of materials, which must be environmentally friendly and reusable.

Canopea: Solar Energy Modular House with 10 kW Solar Panels

Video

Interior

Floor plans

Construction

Multy-storey modular concept

Project participants

In September 2012, teams of students from 12 countries gathered at Villa Solar, an open public space in Madrid. They participated in Solar Decathlon, a competition to build prototypes of innovative energy-efficient homes. Each prototype had to be installed in 11 days on the site of Villa Solar and to respect a certain number of constraints, in particular:

• living area 45 sqm - 70 sqm with a footprint of not more than 150 sqm;
• integration of an autonomous energy system using solar energy with a maximum power of 10 kW (solar panels);
• temperature permanently maintained between 23° C and 25° C.

This initiative, with a dual educational and scientific ambition, was started in the United States by the Department of Energy before being developed in Europe and China more recently. In Madrid, the various installations were rated according to 10 criteria, including architecture, comfort, economic viability and electrical balance of the structure. And it is the Canopea project, bringing together students from different schools in the Rhone-Alpes region supported by numerous public and private partners, who won this friendly competition.

The Rhone-Alpes team, carrying the award-winning Canopea project, has developed a concept of modular "home-towers", inspired by the canopy, the upper part of the forest that captures nearly 95% of solar energy. The modular buildings consist of up to 10 floors, each apartment ideally occupying a whole floor as a small house and enjoying a 360° view. Different modular "home-towers" are interconnected by external passageways to create meeting places without harming the need for privacy.

In Madrid, the solar energy modular house prototype presented simulated the last two floors of a modular "home-tower", an innovative tower of limited size and with a good "connection" to the networks, with an optimized energy system. This type of solar energy modular house is tested locally at two sites in Lyon as well as at the scientific campus in Grenoble as part of the GIANT program.

Fab Lab House: Prefab Design for CNC Machine + Flexible Solar Panels

Video

Inside the house

Form follows energy

Project participants

“A solar house should be made from a solar material such as wood.”

Salvador Rueda, Urban Ecology Agency of Barcelona

“Rather than making solar houses, we can create self-sufficient habitats that are able to produce energy, food and other goods.”

Vicente Guallart, IAAC

“The Fab Lab House is developed on a network of fabrication laboratories using CNC machines to design and produce houses that can be customizable by the inhabitants, and at the same time adaptable to the environmental conditions”

Neil Gershenfeld, Center for Bits and Atoms, MIT

The Fab Lab House won Solar Decathlon Europe 2010 people’s choice award. In Madrid more than 20,000 people, who interested in solar house design, have visited the most liked and popular solar house in Spain, designed and manufactured by the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC).

Prince Felipe of Spain said it looked like a wooden boat but the spectacular prefab solar house produced by Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia was also called “peanut house” “cinnamon submarine,” “forest zeppelin” or “whale belly”.

The queues to visit the Fab Lab prefab house have greatly surprised the design team of the project: more than 20,000 visitors saw the solar prefab house during the ten days of Solar Decathlon Europe competition. The design team has been awarded with the people’s choice award. “This is a really important award for us – said Daniel Ibanez, Co-Director of the Fab Lab project – because compared to other solar houses we wanted to achieve a very human house. We wanted to make a house to live more than a technology showroom.”

However the Fab Lab house has also introduced significant innovations and state-of-the-art technologies such as the most efficient in the world flexible solar panels, designed and made with both American and Spanish technologies. This created a great interest among people and companies who visited the solar prefab house and it represents an important and significant breakthrough in the sustainable architecture and using of flexible solar panels in facades and roofs. “We wanted to overcome the idea that a solar house is a traditional house with solar panels on top and a lot of modern technology inside. Our project is a full solar house, a new generation of building that visitors have come to appreciate.” says the co-director of the Fab Lab project.

“The competition has been a great way to push the spirit of innovation in the field of architecture and construction in these times of crisis. We will propose that future editions will add tests where they value passive energy solutions in the design of buildings rather than the high consumption of energy to achieve comfort conditions. A solar house competition in Europe should overcome the American technical understanding, and bring values related to outdoor space and the social use of energy” says Vicente Guallart, Director of the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia.

So far the solar prefab house has already attracted the interest of the media and the public. The Fab Lab house has been put up for sale from € 45,000 + VAT. Various possible house configurations are defined: Villa (96 +96 sqm), House (60 +60 sqm), Studio (36 sqm), Shelter (24 sqm) and Cottage (12 sqm).

The Fab Lab project, which involved experts, engineers and architects from 20 countries, is being developed by the worldwide network of Fab Labs, The Center for Bits and Atoms from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC). The project participants include following companies: Schneider Electric, Endesa, Visoren, Santa & Cole, Roca, Vincon and Nani Marquina.