黑洞社区

Next week鈥檚 Interbuild exhibition is set to showcase low-costs sustainable housing using offsite construction methods.

Volumetric builder Elements Europe is to showcase an example of a timber-framed house built to passive house standards. This new technology is to be used on a live site in Wales early next years where 38 affordable units will be built. the firm said the cost for a two-bedroom house excluding land is 拢60,000.

House overnight

The house is using a system called Ty Unnos, which translates in Welsh as 'house overnight'. Made from low-density timber - usually used for non-structural applications like pallets, packaging and fencing -Ty Unnos is very light weight and yet exceptionally strong, Elements claim. A laminating process and beam, column and joist arrangements result in a sturdy, load-bearing structure, the firm added.

鈥淭he Elements House shows how high end specification builds can be achieved using low cost construction methods,鈥� said Elements Europe chief operating officer Darren Richards. 鈥淔urthermore, with a prepared foundation in place the structure can be built on site within a day and in a live project would be ready for occupancy within a week.鈥�

Also on show at the exhibition, which runs from Sunday 26 to Thursday 30 October, will be:

• An Eco House: an example of a three-storey family house that is aiming to achieve Code Level 5 compliance. The project is designed by Woodward Smith Architects and built by Loosemore Chartered 黑洞社区 Company. The timber frame structure will be used for a private development in Barnstaple, Devon.
• Also demonstrating the potential for offsite construction, a retail unit is being supplied by offsite outfit Yorkon