At the end of February, the NEST site ("The Nest") in Dubendorf, Switzerland was expanded with a new module. The three-story building DFAB HOUSE (stands for Digital Fabrication and Living) was the first truly inhabited home, manufactured “inside and out” using digital technologies: using 3D modeling, robots and a 3D printer.
The first tenants - employees of the research laboratories Empa and Eawag * - will move here in the next two months. The space is planned to be used not only as housing, but also as a testing ground, where new products from the construction and energy industries will be tested in real conditions. The main idea of the project is to make the construction of buildings not only more efficient but also sustainable.
DFAB HOUSE was installed on the uppermost platform of the NEST complex. NEST is a kind of full-scale research laboratory, consisting of a central core on which the module houses are attached.
One of the last - UMAR - is devoted to the problem of environmental pollution. It consists entirely of "borrowed" materials - recycled and ready for subsequent reuse.
New building with an area of 200 m2 - the result of a long-term cooperation between the professors of the Swiss Higher Technical School of Zurich (ETH Zürich) and experts from 30 industrial companies. The dwelling's thin concrete ceiling is poured into 3D-printed formwork, and its undulating wall is laid out by a construction robot. The authors of the project believe that the room resembles the work of Hans Rudy Giger, famous for his sketches for the film "Alien" and design
frontman Korn's mic stand.
-
zooming 1/4 DFAB HOUSE © NCCR Digital Fabrication / Roman Keller
-
zooming 2/4 DFAB HOUSE © NCCR Digital Fabrication / Roman Keller
-
zooming 3/4 DFAB HOUSE © NCCR Digital Fabrication / Roman Keller
-
zooming 4/4 DFAB HOUSE © NCCR Digital Fabrication / Roman Keller
The last two floors of the house are supported by wooden frames, the layout of which has been simulated on a computer. Two construction robots participated in the installation. Digital design, according to the engineers, has resulted in significant material optimization and savings.
-
zooming 1/3 DFAB HOUSE © NCCR Digital Fabrication / Roman Keller
-
zooming 2/3 DFAB HOUSE © NCCR Digital Fabrication / Roman Keller
-
zooming 3/3 DFAB HOUSE © NCCR Digital Fabrication / Daniel Sanz Pont
The architectural potential of digital technology is huge, but almost never used on construction sites, the team laments. Pilot projects like DFAB should accelerate the transition from theory to practice, says ETH Zürich professor Matthias Kohler.
The house turned out to be futuristic: on command, the blinds go up and the water in the kettle begins to boil; there is a multi-stage security and lighting control system. The work of the "smart" home is provided by digitalSTROM equipment.
Smart technologies work not only at the household level - they also help control energy consumption. Photovoltaic cells on the roof provide energy - on average one and a half times more than is necessary to maintain the house, and the "intelligent" control system controls energy consumption and smooths out load peaks. Heat from waste water is not wasted, but is transferred further through heat exchangers installed in shower trays. Unused hot water is piped back to the boiler, which not only saves energy and water, but also prevents the growth of bacteria in the pipes.
*
Empa - Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Eawag - Federal Institute for Science and Technology. Both are part of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology (along with ETH Zürich).
