Towards modular housing ?
In a context characterized by the questioning of urban sprawl, the promotion of renewable resources and the evolution of demographic structure, sustainable housing occupy a growing place in research and investigation of new architectural models. In order to focus on the emergence of innovative perspectives, the newspaper "Le Temps" has devoted an article on the experimental project Swisswoodhouse, developed by Bauart, of which Professor Emmanuel Rey of the Laboratory of Architecture and Sustainable Technologies (LAST) is a partner.
To be in line with a long-term perspective, reflection on built environment can’t ignore demographic evolutions resulting in particular from the changes of family structure and the emergence of a long-life society. In reaction to this continuous evolution of needs, the concept of Swisswoodhouse consists in a new modular housing, which tends to conciliate urban densification, ecological construction, housing adaptability and quality of life.
The project is based on a catalogue of wood modules of 22 m2, presenting a high-energy standard, including renewable energies and promoting indigenous wood for its construction. Thanks to these measures, the project is particularly compatible with the 2000-Watt society developed within the EPF domain. After a collaborative research phase with many academic and industrial partners, the request for a building permit for the construction of the first prototype was handed in this summer in the Canton of Lucerne. The commissioning of the first building should therefore take place in 2013.
The results of the research phase will be also presented by Prof. Emmanuel Rey at the 28th International Conference on Passive Low Energy Architecture (PLEA), which will take place in Lima, Peru from 7th – 9th November 2012.