The completely sustainable house

(Tree Hugger reports:) Last week, Construmat, the biggest International Building Show, opened its doors in Barcelona. This year, the show has dedicated a whole pavilion to Sustainable Construction where it was possible to visit the R4House, designed by the Valencian architect Luis de Garrido.

The R4House prototype consists of two bioclimatic homes (one of 1615 sq. feet and a mini-flat of 323 sq. feet) made from materials that close the loop, such as bamboo and even wool as insulation. The energy consumption of both is zero due to its bioclimatic design with green roofs, the solar panels and the geothermal energy source. The waste production during construction is also zero. Both homes are modular and built from six recycled shipping containers; low-cost and allowing flexibility.

(Virtual model courtesy of Construible)

The 4 Rs stand for Reuse, Recover, Recycle and Reasoning with the latter being the most important says Garrido. “With the construction sector being very inert and sustainable architecture looking to establish itself, reasoning is required to redesign the construction process and lower its negative impact on the environment.” The construction materials as well as interior ones have been carefully chosen and are all recycled as well as recyclable. 28 companies from all sorts of fields have sponsored this effort.

Garrido proposes a concept that embraces “the beauty of imperfection” to mimimize the waste generated by an excess of design.

The R4House is however not only ecological but also economical in terms of pricing. The construction cost of the 1615 sq. feet space is $80,946 and the small home costs $16,189.

Via: Construible (in Spanish only)

Link from the Trade Show: Construmat

Explore posts in the same categories: Bioclimatic architecture

Tags: Architecture, Bioclimatic architecture, green building, luis de garrido, r4house, shipping containers house

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