entileen demonstrates how to print a home

‘villa in asserbo’ by entileen, copenhagen, denmarkimage © UPM

danish architects nicholas bjørndal and frederik agdrup of entileen have shared with us images of the ‘villa asserbo’ in the middle of the forest 50 kilometers north of copenhagen. unsatisfied with the current design/build process, entileen preoccupied themselves with the full life cycle of a building from construction, to maintenance, to deconstruction and recycling. using CNC rapid prototyping machines, 400 components were cut out from 800 sheets of locally-sourced FSC certified nordic spruce plywood, in close collaboration with facit homes. each part, cataloged and numbered, is then brought to the site with a set of instructions illustrating the assembly of the pieces which can be done by only two people. twenty-eight screw piles drilled between 12 and 20 feet into the ground form the foundation of the home, supporting it a foot off of the ground and minimizing the permanent effects on the site. during the house’s deconstruction, the pylons can be entirely removed without any trace of a structure having ever existed. the design, containing mirrored pitched roofs, recognizes the traditional nordic aesthetic under a new pretext that effectively creates zones within the structure suitable for various seasons and times of day. insulation consists of only natural wood fibers pumped into each of the components and doubles the efficiency of the envelope, apart from being 100% recyclable. the openings are made of ventilation windows, with three panes and a revolutionary valve system that constantly ventilates the interior without any heat loss. air is naturally heated by the sun and constantly vented into the house throughout the winter with no parts requiring grid energy to function.

entranceimage © UPM

architect nicholas bjørndal explains general concept of the design and construction:

‘we take a holistic approach to building design and sustainability. a lot of people are mainly concerned with how much energy a home uses during its period of habitation. we take the entire life cycle and all aspects of this into consideration – from the making of the house, to the habitation of the house and in the end the deconstruction and recycling of the house. this means our overall footprint is one of the lowest on the market.’

construction of the structural frameimage © UPM

‘another dogma for this project has been: no component of the construction is heavier than 2 men are able to carry it and the house can be built without the use of cranes or heavy machinery. this dogma does not only address the simplicity and innovative approach to designing for assembly, but gives way for several other perspectives on how to approach the global market. it is a highly adaptable system which is easily implemented in regions with limited resources. for example, improvement of housing conditions of 3rd world countries or recovery plans for regions hit by natural disasters.’

– architect frederik agdrup

axonometric