Multipod Studio in France, have designed a prefabricated housing system that is quick to assemble, is completely recyclable and uses environmentally friendly materials.
The house totals 150m2 in floor area.
As visible in the time-lapse image above, the base floor raft is constructed of composite timber beams which use less timber than conventional raw plank timber framed systems.
The system uses insulation building blocks (EPS – expanded polystyrene) with thin timber framework, all fixed together with timber screws. Thermal bridging is minimized and the building envelope has a U-value of only 0.11 W/m2.k – and thus satisfies the Passivhaus requirement of max 0.15 W/m2.k.
I think the overall look of the system is very appealing. Contemporary clean lines and the timber cladding softens the exterior. The charcoal colour of the insulation panels looks great with the timber and tends to blend well with natural surroundings.
The interiors are stylish and warm with timber floor and ceiling boards. Multipod also design great lights and furniture pieces, some of which are displayed in the image below.
Multipod studio have also developed an OFFICE POD.
Amsterdam is definitely on of my favorite cities. I decided this when we visited just this past weekend.
Amsterdam (Photo: Nathan Palmer)
As a city there is so much about it that makes it a wonderfully sustainable and efficient place to live. I refer mainly to the old city, which is where we stayed and spent most of our time but the more modern suburbs suggest that the dutch have continued to be world leaders in designing and developing low-carbon cities.
DENSITY & SCALE
The density and scale of the buildings ensures that space is maximized but one never feels overwhelmed. Typically 4 to 6 stories high, with retail on ground floor, the scale feels very comfortable. This is certainly assisted by the space between buildings – the narrow streets flanking picturesque canals – which dilute the impact of dense neighborhood living.
Typical city scale (Photo: Nathan Palmer)
The activity that ground level retail provides, results in a buzz and colour that makes every street unique and attractive.
TRANSPORT
The flat landscape and cycle friendly roads provide the ideal situation for commuting by bike. And there are thousands of them! According to wikipedia, ‘over 60% of trips are made by bike in the inner city and 38% of trips are made by bike overall in the greater city area’. It is quite something to cross the street as a pedestrian, and flinging ones head from left to right repeatedly becomes the standard road-crossing activity.
Bikes parked along the street (Photo: Nathan Palmer)
It is wonderful though, seeing so many happy cyclists, wind whipping through hair, kings of the road. That’s right – cars definitely take a back seat in this city. I would not be surprised to find out that there are as many bicycles as there are people in Amsterdam. It has caused some problem though as roads become filled with cyclists during peak hours and limited space for bike sparking caused frustration. The are now specific bike parking garages to deal with the vast numbers. I noticed this huge one outside the Central Train Station:
The tram system is well utilized and efficient which further discourages car usage and the associated pollution and carbon emissions. I do wonder why people have cars at all in this city.
PUBLIC SPACE
There are a number of bustling squares and peaceful parks in the city. Whether you are up for some street entertainment, or a quite stroll among leafy trees, you only have to amble a few blocks before you find what you are after. This access to pleasant public space has a profoundly positive impact on the health and well-being of occupants.
A small gripe would be that I found it annoying that general restaurant policy refused to offer tap water and one has to buy bottled water. This is both wasteful (use of bottles when the tap water is perfectly drinkable) and costly. I think that the city would do well to add more public drinking fountains around the streets as I only noticed one despite our extensive explorations.
BUILDINGS
Traditional narrow canal houses, with their narrow street frontage and deep footprint presents a planning challenge to be sure – especially with the placement of windows limited to front and back of the building. Although old and fairly poor insulation values for the typical building fabric, the terraced nature is very good for energy efficiency as the neighboring buildings act as insulation to the majority of the external walls. Contemporary improvements would include double or triple-glazed windows and , floor, roof and wall cavity insulation.
Amsterdam has one of the most advanced waste incinerators in the world. The heat sequestered provides the ‘fuel’ for district heating. The city is dedicated to shifting energy supply to renewable sources. The following facts and figures are sourced from http://www.iamsterdam.comhere.
The waste-fired power plant has an electrical efficiency of 30%, 8% higher than the average waste-to-energy plant.
The AEB – Amsterdam’s Waste and Energy Company (AEB, Afval Energie Bedrijf) can produce sustainable energy because 48% of the waste consists of biomass. Energy released from biomass qualifies for CO2 neutral certification.
The AEB produces 300,000 gigajoules of district heating per year. A household connected to the district heating grid uses an average of 36 gigajoules per year. In the near future, 40,000 additional households will be connected to the district heating grid provided by the AEB.
The AEB produces renewable electricity for 320,000 households.
The AEB produces 1 million MWh of electricity per year. This is enough to cover the electricity needs of three quarters of the households in Amsterdam. It is also enough to power a 60 watt light bulb for almost 2 million years.
The AEB processes over 1.4 million tonnes of waste per year, and is the largest single location waste processor in the world. 1.4 million tonnes of waste are equal to the total weight of 185,000 African elephants!
In 2007, the AEB avoided CO2-emissions equal to 470 kt. Just by generating energy from waste.
There are about 123,000 street lights with 138,000 fittings and 145,000 light bulbs in Amsterdam. Green energy, delivered by the Amsterdam Waste and Energy Company, is used for all streetlights
Another source of renewable energy… Windmills – historic symbols of the Netherlands industrial success – are now being used to generate electricity. The community can buy shares in the windmills which allow them to benefit from future profits. Read more here (tip: use google translate)
For more interesting facts and figure about Amsterdam, visit http://www.iamsterdam.com/en-GB/experience/about-amsterdam/facts-and-figures
Sustainable Building Design 