axonometric view of low-voltage building systems


the soft house project in hamburg, germany is a winning competition entry designed by the kva matx team for the international bauaustellung (iba), a prestigious german building tradition that dates to 1901. the iba hamburg explores the ‘city in climate change’ and the balance of urban growth and climate conservation in the planned ‘leap’ to the elbe islands just south of hamburg’s hafencity district. the iba hamburg and the associated international garden exhibit (iga) will open to the public in april, 2013. over 50,000 visitors each week are expected to visit the iba/iga exhibition projects. please see www.iba.de for information on iba hamburg and the soft house. the soft house, under construction in summer 2012, is a set of live/work row house units which offer a new model for low carbon construction and an ecologically responsive lifestyle that can be personalized to meet homeowner needs. the soft house demonstrates how domestic infrastructure can become ‘soft’—engaging flexible living concepts, carbon neutral solid wood (brettstapel) construction, and wireless building controls with responsive and performative textiles which create the public identity of the architecture. through the conceptual reframing of ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ materials and the integration of architecture, mobile textiles and clean energy infrastructure the soft house transforms the german passivehaus typology, offering a much more flexible living experience. the soft house brings together an interdisciplinary, international design team which includes kva matx, 360 architekten, helbig /knippers advanced engineering, buro happold climate engineering, the patrizia development group and a consortium of building industry partners. more than 100 iba partners and 40 private investors are supporting the iba ‘leap’ across the elbe and it is anticipated that by 2013 over 1200 new dwellings will be put up on iba hamburg’s territory, with an additional 5000 new dwellings projected by 2020. the soft house offers a new model that is distinctly different from the classic passivhaus. soft house uses exclusively sustainable materials and allows the user much more flexibility to adapt to their personal lifestyle and comfort zone. the use of a vertically operable heat reflecting textile ‘soft duct’ limits heat loss in winter and maximizes shading in summer. simple operable curtains are integrated into the domestic architecture and radiant flooring zones to allow users to create variations of public and more private spaces, as well as to create thermal zones and to affect the energy consumption of the building. the building is naturally vented with the wintergarden / soft duct chase. this allows for a more open lifestyle in summer and eliminates the need for mechanical venting system. an optional heat exchanger can re-distribute the heat for the tempering of the soft duct space or into the overall dwelling. the overall energy concept is augmented by the identity giving use of the textile roof membrane which contributes to create a micro-climate for the building, shading roof, terrace and glazing in summer. operability for the energy harvesting strands is achieved with winches, and simple rotation, drawing upon the region’s local maritime manufacturing capabilities. the soft house responsive façade is the first demonstration of a soft, two axis solar tracking architecture. a pliable, spring-like structure of fiber-reinforced composite boards bend to optimize the solar angle of thin film flexible photovoltaics. daily east west sun tracking and day-light harvesting is achieved with simple winch rotation, drawing upon the region’s local maritime industries. a rich range of dynamic shade and sun lighting effects are generated from a very simple architectural elevation. adjustments to the responsive façade are made seasonally and daily via the soft house building management system (bms). the material transformation of historically ‘hard’ energy infrastructure (such as non-renewable energy and sun-tracking machinery) in the responsive soft façade creates a series of spatial and functional climate layers that are experienced from outside and inside the dwellings. the design establishes a natural ventilation chimney as a central vertical spatial feature that is experienced in different ways on each floor. vertical curtains modulate the rise and fall of air in the convection ‘atrium’ while horizontal curtains with led lighting can be moved to create local thermal micro-climates. the energy harvesting soft façade establishes a dynamic and ‘soft’ form for the soft house that is modulated by the interplay between user shading preferences and seasonal sun angles. energy is generated with thin film photovoltaic strips under development by solan ag, a soft house partner. the semi-translucent textile facade is made of uncoated ptfe which offers good shading, weather resistance and durability. the soft structure is designed to fold flat to the roof in storm conditions. with multiple, movable soft layers, the soft house ‘unpacks’ the thick perimeter of the passivehaus typology creating a set of re-configurable domestic spaces and personal thermal zones that are conceptually allied with the decentralization of domestic energy and information. soft house living offers home owners freedom and flexibility to adapt their homes to fit their personal lifestyle and comfort preferences. the energy harvesting textile facade is complimented in the interior dwellings with movable led curtains and the soft house low voltage dc network for household electronics, radiant floor flows and led lighting. this new domestic landscape of space making curtains may be configured to enclose space, prevent drafts and augment the local thermal conditions of the radiant floor, enhancing the environmental and comfort benefits of passive radiant heating and cooling.

soft house construction starts in spring, 2012 and will open to the public in april, 2013.


cross sections of facade system in use: (above) summer day/ night, (below) winter day/ night


soft house site - hamburg, germany


soft house - physical model

 




soft house - physical model - evening view


www.kvarch.net

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