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Green and Transportable Modular Building

I. SUMMARY INFORMATION
Project
267427
Status
Submitted
Award category
Modular, adaptable and mobile living solutions
You want to submit
NEW EUROPEAN BAUHAUS RISING STARS : concepts or ideas submitted by young talents (aged 30 or less)
Project title
Green and Transportable Modular Building
Full concept/idea title
Green and Transportable Modular Building: a prefabricated prototype of resilient and efficient house
Description
The Green and Transportable Modular Building focuses on designing a carbon zero house, using renewable energy and strongly reducing the environmental load, while creating a sustainable, high-quality living space adaptable in multiple environmental conditions upgrading new nomad lifestyles. The idea is based on a flexible system, easily adjustable and adaptable according to a timber modular framework, which allows the building to be transportable, with a positive contribution in CO2 absorption.
Where is your concept/idea being developed or intended to be implemented in the EU?
Italy
Lombardia
Via Tredicesima
45.5073
10.1905
Villaggio sereno (BS)
25125
II. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT
Please provide a summary of your concept/ idea
In a period invested by a new nomadic wave given by remote working fresh habits open the possibility to climate resilience through transportable homes. Riding on this vision, a Green and Transportable Modular Building (GTMB) project defines a nearly zero energy building (nZEB) able to reduce its environmental impact and to adapt to different climates and configuration addressing the fluidity of the user’s changing needs of the present time. The project is based on a flexible system, easily adjustable and adaptable according to a modular framework, which allows the building to be possibly transportable. Dynamic simulation is used for the energy performance evaluation of the house, by means of a BIM to BEM workflow. The digital model has been used for designing the modular system and provide a parametrisation for the different configurations. The energy model has been used to double check the performance according with the zero energy goals. A LCA-based approach has been adopted evaluating the energy in the production, and operational and transportation phase. In fact, the building has to be adaptable to different climates and configurations according with user’s need and variable social interaction (e.g. close to family or traveling with friends) and supporting the energy needs for heating, cooling, ventilation, electricity and DHW. The GTMB prototype is based on timber technology to reduce the environmental impact in the life cycle and it integrates a stand-alone photovoltaic system powering, a heat pump for maximising the systems’ energy efficiency. The housing module has been verified in two climates, i.e. in Italy and Norway and the energy balance has been evaluated for the operating phase demonstrating a low consumption and the achievement of the carbon zero goal.
Please give information about the key objectives of your concept/idea in terms of sustainability and how these would be met
Sustainability is the fundamental principle on which the concept of this project was based. The sustainable objectives achieved with the GTMB prototype concern the entire life cycle of the building. The used materials have been chosen according to their environmental footprint. In order to quantify the Embodied Energy, calculations including NRE, RE and GWP for each structural element have been performed and the results are 1.937 GJ/m2 for NRE, 5.070 GJ/m2 for RE and -30 tons CO2/m2 . The chosen materials have allowed the creation of an envelope whose transmittance reflects the thermal needs of two different climates (Italy and Norway). The modularity of the building makes it transportable and has made possible the study of solutions to have low CO2 emissions for transporting the building in the two location during the year. The calculations of CO2 emission have been differentiated, showing that the best alternative is to transport only certain modules and adapt the configuration of the house to lower the carbon footprint and respect the objective of an environmental friendly and resilient building. Two solutions have been defined, a first configuration allowing the highest space availability and a second one suitable for transportation in a different location, called Low Emission Transport solution. This former option needs only one truck for its transportation and consumes 885.61 kgCO2. The global performance is very low and verified through dynamic simulation. Its calculation considers the house located six months in Italy and six months in Norway, maximising the energy saving and the user's comfort, with results of 11.77 kWh/m2 for heating and 1.57 kWh/m2 for cooling. In order for the structure to be defined as a nZEB, efficient energy systems have been proposed: photovoltaic system coupled to the HP and underfloor heating and cooling system; solar hot water system for heating the water collected in a water tank provide a relevant water saving.
Please give information about the key objectives of your concept/idea in terms of aesthetics and quality of experience beyond functionality and how these would be met
The GTMB project, in addition to its function as a prototype house, provides an enriched and augmented user experience. The building has been designed in order to eliminate architectural barriers, making it fully accessible, while the architecture has been studied in order to maintain a balance between the house and the surroundings. For example, the connection with the nature is promoted by different solutions, such as a green patio surrounded by large windows and directly connected to the balcony above, make possible a living experience completely immersed in nature.   This feature is complemented by the presence of urban gardens that promotes the redevelopment of contexts that are poor in biodiversity and permits the regulation of the local micro-climate. An urban garden allows access to fresh and healthy products for food safety and cost saving. In addition to an economic benefit, it also favours a social impact, promoting social inclusion and public health. The orientation of the building has been studied in order to make the best use of natural daylighting, improving the quality of living and exploiting the natural heating and cooling of the indoor spaces thanks to the installation of dynamic shading which ensures its proper adaptation by the thermal point of view. The materials used in the construction of the building are natural, starting from the structures to the interior finishes, avoiding indoor pollutants and preserving indoor air quality and users’ safety. The elegance and modernity of the large interior spaces are accompanied by natural light alternating with the shadows of the trees that give a sense of peace and connection with the surrounding greenery.
Please give information about the key objectives of your concept/idea in terms of inclusion and how these would be been met
The building starts by the needs of a specific user and the requirements defined by this task. The main idea is that a Net Zero Energy Building could be only based on calculated and detailed energy needs and a transportable house has to be tailored on the user adopting a user-centred vision. For that reason the GTMB is designed as a response to the needs of a specific user who has mobility impairment, therefore the building is fully accessible and able to host a caregiver. The maximum accessibility is a key point of social inclusion and the project enables a fragile user to maintain an active life with social contacts and support. The user can travel in different locations exploiting the tailed spaces that can be adapted when near to the family and when travelling with friends and relatives or with a caregiver. Therefore the project allows the user's sociality to be modulated with respect to variable family configurations and possible need for assistance, by adding, when necessary, a special module to accommodate a possible assistant outside the family unit. The transportable house guarantees the comfort for the user in different location and allows to travel with no impact and safety for people. The modular house can be tailored in multiple configurations, including different users and needs, the possibility to adapt the module in a shrunk version also for emergency houses purposes, can open further scenarios of inclusion in different climates and for different pertaining to multiple cultural contexts. The project is customised on the users and it is not the user that has to adapt to the house, moreover it promotes the cooperation among human and nature, such as climate with the double goal of energy saving and user’s comfort. The climatic nomadism can be read as a strategy for maximising these two objective but also it has one more face: the escape of people from territories where climatic crisis could push them to move and to create new resources balance.
Please explain the innovative character of your concept/ idea
The building is aligned with the theme of the modular, temporary, and transportable home by going with an innovative process approach that uses BIM for construction engineering and interoperability to enable lifecycle performance verification. This methodology has been applied to the energy performance by running simulations on a virtual model and predicting responses with respect to the real energy model. This operation has been carried out with the use of software that have led to excellent results in energy savings and therefore in a lower environmental impact in a future phase of use of the building. The project foresees the possibility of saving water through a rainwater tank that collects and recycles rainwater through a special filtering system. The project proposes a new model of living that follows the needs of the user and at the same time adapts to climatic variables. For this reason, the GTMB prototype can work both in the climate nomad theme and in the remote working sector, allowing a real connection with the whole world by reducing one's footprint and collaborating with nature. The model of life that is created with this project therefore follows the seasons and the climate, maximising the comfort and energy savings allowed by the factors indicated above.
Please detail the plans you have for the further development, promotion and/or implementation of your concept/idea, with a particular attention to the initiatives to be taken before May 2022
Future developments related to the GTMB project could concern the replication and extension with respect to other needs that can be collected through participatory processes with different communities of stakeholders, taking into account the modularity and easy adaptability of the project to different climatic situations. The house customisation can be adaptable and tailored for a single or multiple users with possible adaptation of the envelope definition based on climate needs and economic constraints. Moreover, climatic disasters and crisis are one of the most catastrophic effects of climate change, which is the defining issue of our time. The effects are already being felt by whole populations, but marginalised people in some of the world most fragile and conflict-prone countries are disproportionately affected. For this reason, the GTMB configuration could be hypothesized as an emergency house for climate migrants arriving from places where there have been climatic catastrophes: in this way it is possible to provide assistance to many families who lost their home due to the effect of climate change or other crisis (wars, famine, hurricane, tsunami, flood, etc.). The possibility to transport the house with zero impact and the energy self-sufficient concept can be extended to different scenarios proposing a range of solutions in a matrix that crosses social (users)/ environmental (climate)/ affordability (economic) requirements. To facilitate the achievement of this goal it will be necessary to find sponsors and enterprises that work on the modular timber houses who can serve the EU areas by optimizing the transport section with respect to diverse travel routes. A cultural focus to face and support different way of living could support the customised design for all, while datasheets for the definition of technological scenarios for areas can reduce the environmental impact and promote energy saving choosing sustainable materials and shortening the supply chain.
III. UPLOAD PICTURES
IV. VALIDATION
By ticking this box, you declare that all the information provided in this form is factually correct, that the proposed concept/idea has not been proposed for the New European Bauhaus Rising Stars Awards more than once in the same category.
Yes

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