Several materials found a second life on the facade of a recyclable house designed and built as part of an innovative pilot research project in the Kronsberg World Exhibition district of Hanover.
Following on from the concepts of grey energy and resource conservation, this experimental construction project saw the reuse of recycled sauna benches, old industrial cast glass panels and Equitone fibre cement panels (previously known as Eternit panels) on the facade of the house designed by architects Cityförster for the client, Gundlach Bau und Immobilien GmbH. The prototype house was created to test the possibilities and potential of different types of recycling.
The facade was covered with 90% recycled structural components, which were obtained locally from some of the client’s demolition and reconstruction projects. The ventilated curtain wall facade is a double skin facade and a decomposable, recyclable system, used to its full advantage here.
Stylish materials
The EQUITONE fibre cement panels, originally green in colour and still completely intact, date from 2007. They are now ebony black and, together with the profiled glass elements, give the new facade its characteristic appearance. The large-format facade panels are visibly fixed to a wooden structure. The non-flammable panels have a service life of more than 50 years and can be reused without so much as a second thought.
Indoors and outdoors alike
The compact three-storey building with a roof terrace offers 145m² of living space. Half of the building materials used for the interior design are recycled as well. For example, the solid wooden structure is insulated with bags of recycled cocoa beans.
The design by architects Cityförster is perfectly in line with the client's wishes – an especially innovative, 100% ‘recyclable’ house. The tenants of the fully decomposable house were able to move into their new home in 2019. The facade is clad with non-flammable EQUITONE panels with a lifespan of more than 50 years.
Award-winning facade
The ‘Recyclable House’ was awarded a special sustainability prize at the 2020 German Facade Awards for Rear Ventilated Curtain Facades. The jury was won over by the exemplary concept.
Photo: Olaf Mahlstedt, Hanover (Germany)
