 |
| 'B10,' World's First Active House Werner Sobek |
"We should not ask 'how did we use to work and live' but 'how shall we work and live in the future.' "
- Werner Sobek Group
We could not be more impressed with the sheer ingenuity of Werner Sobek's approach to green building design. While we highly suggest perusing their beautiful portfolio of past and current projects, their "Active House" concept is what caught our attention and it will surely catch yours as well.
To elaborate on what defines an Active House:
"Active House stands for buildings, alone or in a network with other active houses that generate more energy than they require themselves." They are capable of reacting to environmental fluctuations both indoors and outdoors "if [such changes] affect the energy performance of the building or the comfort of the user. Active houses can generate, store and consume energy together with other buildings in a self-organized network with the objective of achieving as much energy autarky as possible." (extracted from Werner Sobek)
The world's first active house, called 'B10,' was recently completed in 2014 and is serving as a research project located in Stuttgart, Germany. For three years 'B10' will be part of a scientific study for building research. Two students from the University of Stuttgart will live in the house to observe, measure, and gather data on the functionality and effectiveness of the active house's control systems and energy concepts. Upon conclusion of the project's study "the building will be fully deconstructed...and rebuilt elsewhere or 100% recycled." Part of Werner Sobek's intentions with this prototype is "to demonstrate how innovative materials, constructions and technologies can sustainably improve our built-up world."
'B10' possesses a unique balance of stunning visual simplicity and operational intricacy. We awe over its chic minimalist design and use of transparent, lightweight materials which lend to an airy aesthetic giving the illusion of effortless blending between forged home and established environment. The complex development and thorough incorporation of such highly advanced sustainable technological systems sets standards high for green engineering. Partitions of the building can even "be subdivided for a more defined floor plan [and] will be a model for further developments. [Sobek] wants to bring these advances to taller, six- or eight-story structures...creating plug and play technology that can be a boon for future urban development" (Patrick Sisson, Dwell).
It is so amazing to see this kind of work already underway. It is with no doubt that the concept of active houses will be a game changer for how we'll approach living standards in the future and are eagerly awaiting the day this model becomes ubiquitous.
Werner Sobek is an international architecture firm whose designs combine sophisticated green technologies with high-class engineering. To learn more about their work or the 'B10' project visit:
wernersobek.de and Werner Sobek Greentech Projects, 'B10'
Additional sources referenced in this article:
Prefab Home That Can Be Built in a Day Generates Twice the Energy It Uses /Dwell
 |
| Construction and installation of 'B10' Courtesy of Zooey Braun |
 |
| 'B10' in Stuttgart, German |
No comments :
Post a Comment