Prefabricated nZEB renovation

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267721

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Submitted

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NEW EUROPEAN BAUHAUS AWARDS : existing completed examples

Project title

Prefabricated nZEB renovation

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In 2017 TalTech demonstrated how to reach nearly Zero Energy Building performance by applying prefabricated deep renovation technology on a five-storey apartment building in Tallinn. By now the project has served as a proof of concept for prefabricated renovation solutions in policy, production and design. The project has boosted uptake of the technology, led the way for a grant scheme replicating industrialized renovation and served as a showcase for various stakeholders for knowledge exchange.

Where was your project implemented in the EU?

When was your project implemented?

Has your project benefited from EU programmes or funds?

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Please provide a summary of your project

The mass-produced multi-storey apartment buildings dominate the suburbs of cities all across what was once the Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc, we know them as Plattenbau, Panelház, Khrushchyovka etc. All built after World War II to cheaply house the masses in a way that jived with communist ideology. Near-identical two- and three-bedroom apartments included amenities like central heat, private bathrooms, sometimes elevators. Standardization was paramount. Built to last often only for 50 years, the buildings are deteriorated and clearly do not respond to the current energy performance requirements. To be on track with the 2050 climate goals the direct CO2 emissions from buildings need to be decreased by at least 60%. One of the key solutions for mass-produced apartment building districts is to apply a deep retrofit approach based on modular and industrialized solutions. In this context, the use of a prefabricated multifunctional façade represents a potentially convenient solution to allow effective and multi-criteria renovation of existing buildings, addressing both the envelope and the building systems, as well as structural rehabilitation and aesthetics. Prefabricated modular solutions guarantee quick installation of pre-optimized technological systems and very limited impact on building occupants. The pilot building that tested the prefabricated renovation technology is a typical soviet 5-storey mass-produced multi apartment building, built in 1986 with total area of 4318 m². There are 80 1 and 2 room apartments. Using prefabricated modules for renovation of the pilot building resulted nZEB performance under standard use of the building, provided additional floor space for residents, improved significantly the indoor climate and aesthetics of the living environment. This is the first example of an old apartment building being renovated to meet the requirements of a new nZEB using prefabricated multifunctional modular elements.

Please give information about the key objectives of your project in terms of sustainability and how these have been met

Towering apartment blocks, prefabricated concrete panels, and loads of gray – the modernist landscapes in the suburbs of Post-Soviet Europe are surely breathtaking from a graphic designer’s point of view. The repetition of patterns in the mass-produced elements, recurrent buildings and land-art created from the configurations placing such buildings in the landscape inspire artists and performers, but are seldom the preferred living environment for the residents and a challenge for the city planners. Only in Tallinn the multi-storey apartment building districts currently house about 250 000 residents, which is almost half of all city’s population. Nowhere in the near future it is to be seen that all these people can afford new housing, which means solutions are needed to improve the living quality and aesthetics of the living environment in cost-optimal manner in these same districts. The design concept of the pilot renovation in the Akadeemia 5A building originated from new building nZEB, but in the same time modernizing the building to harmonize it with the overall architectural design of the TalTech campus where the building is located in. Pilot building focused on realization of the energy performance targets, but demonstrated that it is possible to be achieved in a manner that contributes to the quality of the living environment. The technology though has good potential in realization of architectural concepts, both aiming standardization of the districts as well as creating configurations that allow more distinct external appearance for the buildings. A very important advantage of the technology is the controlled quality and shorter periods of renovation inconvenience. Prefabricated modular solutions guarantee quick installation of pre-optimized technological systems and very limited impact on building occupants.

Please give information about the key objectives of your project in terms of aesthetics and quality of experience beyond functionality and how these have been met

Towering apartment blocks, prefabricated concrete panels, and loads of gray – the modernist landscapes in the suburbs of Post-Soviet Europe are surely breathtaking from a graphic designer’s point of view. The repetition of patterns in the mass-produced elements, recurrent buildings and land-art created from the configurations placing such buildings in the landscape inspire artists and performers, but are seldom the preferred living environment for the residents and a challenge for the city planners. Only in Tallinn the multi-storey apartment building districts currently house about 450 000 residents, which is almost half of all city’s population. Nowhere in the near future it is to be seen that all these people can afford new housing, which means solutions are needed to improve the living quality and aesthetics of the living environment in cost-optimal manner in these same districts. The design concept of the pilot renovation in the Akadeemia 5A building originated from maximizing energy performance of the building (≤ 100 kWh/(m²y)), but in the same time modernizing the building to harmonize it with the overall architectural design of the TalTech campus where the building is located in. Pilot building focused on realization of the energy performance targets, but demonstrated that it is possible to be achieved in a manner that contributes to the quality of the living environment. The technology though has good potential in realization of architectural concepts, both aiming standardization of the districts as well as creating configurations that allow more distinct external appearance for the buildings. A very important advantage of the technology is the controlled quality and shorter periods of renovation inconvenience. Prefabricated modular solutions guarantee quick installation of pre-optimized technological systems and very limited impact on building occupants.

Please give information about the key objectives of your project in terms of inclusion and how these have been met

A showroom was set up to the building after renovation, including exhibition of the technical solutions and the impacts of the renovation as well as lecture room for carrying out different training events. Building being located in TalTech campus in Tallinn has allowed active use of the showroom by TalTech and its partners. The Estonian Woodhouse Association, the Foundation Kredex, the Estonian Union of Apartment Building Associations, and many associations and institutions were involved in the success of the project and its evaluation. During last three years different target groups – public officials, engineers, construction companies’ representatives, researchers but moreover apartment building association’s representatives have been introduced the concept and technology. The cooperation with the aforementioned partners has resulted >100 visits from >20 countries. The building operates as hostel for students with families and did not have residents when the renovation was launched; thus, no active inclusion campaign was carried out for occupants. Though TalTech student association was engaged in the design phase of the renovation and contributed ideas how to improve the living quality in the renovated hostel. After renovation, 86% of the residents were satisfied with the thermal comfort. Due to small kids (family hostel), it was desired to keep the temperature higher than the designed standard value. 89% of the residents were satisfied with indoor air quality. 90% of the residents were satisfied with the renovation as a change.

Please give information on the results/impacts achieved by your project in relation to the category you apply for

The renovated building was a pilot in H2020 project MoreConnect., which aimed to develop and demonstrate technologies and components for prefabricated durable, innovative, modular composed building envelope elements for the total building envelop for the renovation market. The cost optimal deep renovation solutions towards nZEB concepts were designed with distinction to climate zones, social and cultural circumstances and building traditions across Europe. The pilot building is an example of prefab integration of multifunctional components for climate control, energy saving, building physics and aesthetics, with advanced easy to use plug&play connections. More specifically the pilot renovation aimed and reached to achieve following objectives: Reduction of the heating and ventilation energy use by 84% and total primary energy consumption (included domestic hot water (DHW), lighting and appliances) by 68% compared to the original consumption Effective production lines to optimize costs of renovation and high-quality output products. This reduced construction failure costs Significant reduction of construction site workload and minimizing onsite installation time. Façade insulation site workload reduced to less than 10% of the total workload of a retrofit compared to traditional renovation. The project serves as an example of a combination of product innovation, process innovation, aesthetics quality, and innovative market approach, in a process of cost and quality optimization, driven by motivated and innovation-driven SME’s. This is the first example of an old apartment building being renovated to meet the requirements of a new nZEB using prefabricated multifunctional modular elements. The developed multifunctional renovation elements are suitable for the whole building envelope (facade and roof) and for the installation of building service systems. These elements can be combined, selected, and configured by the end-user, based on their special needs.

Please explain the way citizens benefiting from or affected by the project and civil society have been involved in the project and what has been the impact of this involvement on the project

At present ~70% of European homes and work places have unsatisfying energy performance, resulting lower living quality and even energy poverty.  Advanced industrialized prefabricated renovation solutions are expected to be the best and in long-term most cost-optimal solution for apartment buildings and other buildings with standardised designs. The project has had strong effect as a proof of concept for mainstreaming the technology of industrialised renovation in construction sector and in improving renovation policy.  The Estonian Woodhouse Association, the Foundation Kredex, the Estonian Union of Apartment Building Associations (EKYL), and many associations and institutions have been involved in the success of the project and its evaluation. To optimize tailor-made industrialized envelope retrofit solutions, a pilot grant scheme has been launched by Estonian Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications along with KredEx. In May 2021 ~15 million eur was granted for renovating 29 apartment buildings in Estonia by applying prefabricated renovation technology, for this different construction companies were engaged via procurement to develop configurations of retrofitting modules for these typical buildings (4 types), allowing further replication. Similarly, German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy has launched a pilot measure Serielles Sanieren, which has been set up replicating the technical expertise of pilot building in Tallinn. Today the Estonian Woodhouse Association has developed higher competence and capacity to participate in new renovation projects, first in Estonia and then also for export. The cluster of companies highlighted the prefabricated renovation noteworthy by awarding the Woodhouse annual prize for the pilot measure described above. EKYL has been disseminating the technical solutions across the world among professional networks of apartment building associations.

Please highlight the innovative character of the project

The nominated project is a first example of an old apartment building being renovated to meet the requirements of a new nZEB using prefabricated multifunctional modular elements. Also, it is innovative in terms of renovating 5-storey building, as more frequently the industrial renovation projects focus on terraced houses and up to 3-storey buildings. The building won the special award for the most energy efficient building in the contest “Pre-Fab House of the Year” 2018 and “Energy act of the year 2017”. Pre-Fab House of the Year contest is an annual event which aim is to recognize the best wooden prefabricated houses and promote wooden construction as a whole, organized by the Estonian Woodhouse Association in cooperation with Estonian Wooden Houses Cluster. The renovation showcased how the building envelope can be insulated with prefabricated modular panels that consist of a timber frame structure. Insulation and other materials are freely selectable that makes the easily configurable. The "traffic light" based selection table compiled for the selection of different material combinations makes it easier for the designer and the customer to decide which materials to choose depending on the building and the renovation time. The innovation was made by linking of advanced geomatics, configuration the elements, and the whole building information model (BIM) into one total integrated process. To ensure the most accurate geometry, a laser scan was used to measure the building. Later this info was transferred to BIM. Participating SME industries adapted their process to the integrated system and process approach and demonstrate this in the project. The project has encouraged spin-off innovations, prefabricated deep renovation advancing circular renovation principles is being tested in Drive0 project and a 9-storey buildings renovation is aimed to be launched with freshly started OpenLab project. Both funded by Horizon2020.

Please explain how the project led to results or learnings which could be transferred to other interested parties

The replicability and transferability of the prefabricated deep renovation technology lays in the standardized layouts of the mass-produced buildings, their similar performance failures and the large number such buildings in Europe and beyond. The innovation process is well documented, published in several scientific journal articles and conference papers as well in 2 PhD thesis (Pihelo 2020, Kuusk 2015) published based on the results gained from this project. Spin-off projects have been launched and further are under development. Based on the results of the study following results or learnings which could be transferred: To take better into account occupant behaviour and the real use of building and other input parameters for designing energy performance national energy performance calculation method will improved. To force contractors and developers to put into practice quality assurance and moisture safety commissioning processes will be a mandatory part of contracting of prefabricated renovation. Strict rules of moisture safety and analysis of designed solutions before, during and after renovation are essential and worthwhile for high quality, sustainable outcomes of nZEB renovation with prefabricated timber frame insulation elements. The excellent successful project encouraged the state to launch a renovation grant (KredEx 2021) to support prefabricated additional insulation elements. The SMEs gained experience in renovating a large 5-storey apartment building with prefabricated insulation elements, which allows the method to be scaled to the entire building stock. The owners of the buildings gained experience from a new successful renovation solution and dare to order it. The aesthetically and architecturally high-quality building is a good example of the new European Bauhaus.

Is an evaluation report or any relevant independent evaluation source available?

By ticking this box, you declare that all the information provided in this form is factually correct, that the proposed project has not been proposed for the Awards more than once under the same category and that it has not been subject to any type of investigation, which could lead to a financial correction because of irregularities or fraud.