House_S

New-build low-energy house in Bad Wörishofen, Unterlagen, Bavaria

Detached family house. Load-bearing construction with double garage and no basement. The load-bearing external walls were constructed from single leaf insulating perforated brickwork, 36.5cm thick, with external render and internal plaster. The construction meets the Development Loan Corporation Bank 70 standard.

The house was constructed on a sloping site on the edge of a newly developed estate. We advised the client concerning the location of the site. Although the site chosen is awkwardly shaped, it benefits from an established context on the edge of the estate with adjacent fine mature trees. The difficult situation in new estates - building sites, absence of established context, new-build next to new-build - was avoided.

The house was conceived for a 4 person family. The communal spaces - lobby, kitchen/dining room, living room, study, guest bathroom and storage/utility room - are situated on the ground floor. The large double garage is accessed directly from the house. The entrance lobby enables the house to be crossed from east to west, from the street via the front garden to the rear west-facing garden. The private spaces on the upper floor - master bedroom with changing area and bathroom, and 2 identical childrens' rooms for the twins - are reached from the lobby via an open stair. Built-in furniture provides adequate storage space on both levels.

The energy strategy consists of the primary energy sources - a combination of a solid-fuel stove (wood burning) with thermal recovery system and solar hot water panels on the roof - and a secondary energy source - gas boiler - that only operates when required. The total energy requirement of the house is about 33 kWh/m2. A low temperature under-floor heating system heats the whole building along with the stove in the living room.