Interview about The Da House Private Residential, winner of the A' Architecture, Building and Structure Design Award 2024
The Da House is an innovative, wooden, modular object made with certified solid wooden 3D construction, ecological certified materials, passive technology and mobile foundation. This dwelling combines the simplicity and quality of prefabricated construction, with the beauty and integrity of an aesthetic object. There are translated ecological and functional assumptions creating a ecological architecture. The priority of the project was the health of residents, high quality, no barriers house, ecology and the favorable microclimate provided by wood, cost of construction & exploitation.
View detailed images, specifications, and award details on A' Design Award & Competition website.
View Design DetailsOur path to developing a 3D wooden structure led through experience in designing and building wooden houses, including our own house, which became the starting project for modular division of space. The construction and use of this house confirmed our assumptions and so the idea was born to replicate these modules in the construction of modular houses based on our own designs, and to move the construction of houses under the roof to our own house prefabrication hall.
The inspiration was nature itself, what we found on site when visiting the client's plot. We decided that the most important thing in this project is the view. That our DA House fits perfectly into this location. It gives a democratic view to all residents regardless of which part of the house they are in and what they are doing. Raising the building above the ground additionally enhanced this view and provided protection for the building from periodic flooding of the river. This design of the house made the residents feel like an integral part of nature, which is why they started to take care of it and suport.
Our private house has become a testing ground for wood technology and passive heat sources. After many years of using it, our assumptions have simply proven themselves and have given us vast knowledge and experience in designing modular, ecological and zero-energy buildings, which we are now creating.
The ability to add, switch and move modules together with foundations is crucial for creating sustainable housing architecture of our times. Changing needs of residents, climate change (floods, earthquakes), economic stability are undoubtedly priority issues for architecture. Fulfilling them is a big challenge for societies, and architecture should cope with them. Our houses solve these problems.
The dimensions of our 3D wooden cages have been adapted to the possibility of easy delivery by road to any place in Europe or even the world. Their dimensions also result from the elimination of waste materials, which makes the production ecological and the materials optimally used.
I think we are still fighting this skepticism, but probably less and less. Customer awareness is growing. In addition, we have our passion and undoubted talent for talking about sustainable architecture. Sometimes one meeting is enough for a customer to become fascinated by this type of construction. It also convinces them that we use this type of house ourselves and that we build it ourselves in our workshop. Such trust is built personally.
The minimal carbon footprint is created by the use of wood and waste-based materials alone. Wood is a unique material. For every tonne of dry wood produced, 1.8 tonnes of carbon dioxide are taken out of the atmosphere. This taken carbon remains ‘locked up’ throughout the life of the wood, even when it is used to build products or furniture, helping to offset global greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, our home construction process is unique. The homes are built in a zero-emission timber prefabrication hall. The use of certified materials and passive technology at The Da House Private Residential creates an impressive ecological footprint. Could you elaborate on the strategies you have implemented to minimise the environmental impact throughout the building’s life cycle?
The process of building modular houses also takes place in a wooden hall with a modular structure. We can also remove the hall together with the foundations from the plot or move it to another location. The hall is energy self-sufficient and built from ecological materials and those that are easy to recycle. Therefore, it does not and will not be a burden on the natural environment after its period of use.
The mobile foundation system of The DA House and all our buildings was originally designed for military use and for difficult terrain. Hence, our buildings can be placed in low ground, on rocks, unstable areas etc. The DA House was built on unstable peat and in the floodplain of a river. Thanks to these foundations, we can place safe buildings in seismic and floodplain areas.
We are learning all the time. We see no problem in making modular structures available for large residential or hotel projects. We are waiting for such a challenge. We believe that the future belongs to modular buildings.
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