In June of this year, the Solar Decathlon Europe took place in Wuppertal - a competition in which ten teams compete against each other on the topic of sustainable building and living on site. Sponsored by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK), several fully functioning prototypes were presented that provide future-oriented answers to the question of how a climate-neutral building stock can be achieved by 2050. Under the guiding principle of "Minimal Impact - Maximum Output" (MIMO for short), an interdisciplinary team of 18 professors and 70 students from Düsseldorf University of Applied Sciences has developed a conservation refurbishment and an extension by adding room modules to an old warehouse in Wuppertal Mirke - also known nationwide as the location of the dance and event venue Café Ada. One module was realized as a House Demonstration Unit. The guiding principle here is to create a social fabric between the residents - with the consistent use of reusable materials and energy efficiency, but also the application of sufficiency principles of minimal private living space and sharing models.

The competition brief for a so-called "solar envelope" allowed for a structure measuring a maximum of 10 x 10 m as a basic module with a maximum height of 7 m. The MIMO team opted for two compact residential modules, shortened to approx. 8 m, and a technical building services module, which are placed against and on top of each other and surrounded by a climate envelope. On each of the two levels, there is a living module reduced to the bare essentials as well as various communal areas such as a kitchen, a large dining area, a lounge and access furniture including storage space. The main entrance leads residents through the communal kitchen area, which can be spatially and acoustically separated from the rest of the room by double-woven curtains, right under the upper floor living module. Using this and different heating circuits, the kitchen area can be used individually as a heat island with a higher temperature level in the winter months. The transition to the two-storey main room opens up into a bright space with windows. This is where communal living takes place, with a space-creating staircase that provides access to the upper lounge and concealed storage space. Photovoltaic cells embedded in the windows provide electricity and shade. The solar gains are primarily used to heat the room; underfloor heating is only used at very low temperatures. The room modules are based on prefabricated solid, glue-free 12 to 18 cm thick solid wood wall and ceiling elements, which are thermally and acoustically insulated in the communal areas with screwed cork insulation panels. Clay bricks serve as thermal storage mass and sound absorbers for the north façade, while clay plaster was applied to clay building boards in combination with wall surface heating to store heat and regulate humidity in the bathroom.

www.mimo-hsd.de

Photos:

Marvin Hillebrand
Team Mimo

(Published in CUBE Düsseldorf 04|22)