The building’s design concept developed by the Rosenheim university team is based on a modular structure. This produces a flexible and open floor plan. The building, which is designed as a home for two people, also provides enough space for two overnight guests and enables up to eight people to eat in the dining area. A central kitchenette acts as the main gathering point in the middle of the generous living space. This is where all the necessary kitchen equipment and utensils are kept. A dining table that can be extended along its length is positioned immediately alongside the kitchenette and can be completely stowed away if required.

With its “serrated” facade, an entirely new facade and solar shading concept, the building’s architecture is given an individual and expressive character. In addition, the solar shading can be adapted to meet the requirements and needs of the building and occupants during the course of the day and year. This creates a play of light and shade, and the facade continually shows a different face.

The energy concept relies on excellent thermal insulation, a maximum of air tightness and efficient solar shading. At midday when the solar loads are greatest, the solar shading – which retracts into the ground – can be extended upwards from the ground as far as the eaves. The variable positioning of the solar shading and the resulting skylight strip enable the amount of available daylight to be individually set.

The building is predominantly cooled using passive measures, whereby a film of water is directed across the sloping solar modules on the roof during the cool hours of the night. By means of thermal radiation and evaporative cooling, the water is cooled by up to 10 kelvin, is collected in a storage tank, and is then used during the day to provide ceiling cooling. In order to provide a buffer for peak loads, a newly developed channel is used with latent heat storage material (PCM). In air recirculation mode, a cooling output of 2 kW is achieved with a temperature difference of around 10 kelvin. And there is one more special feature: with this building, hot water is not provided from solar thermal collectors but using the process heat from a water-to-water heat pump.

• Modular wooden frame construction system with rigid and specially developed wood-to-steel adhesive bonds
• Variable, retractable “serrated facade”
• Radiation and evaporative cooling across the roof surfaces in combination with a cooling ceiling
• External, PCM latent heat storage system operated in recirculation mode
• Flexible LED lamps (Plugit) that can be slotted into a ceiling grid
• Multifunctional interior furnishings (kitchenette, room divider) 

Overall ranking: 2nd place

Individual disciplines:

• First prize for Electrical Energy Balance
• First prize for Usage
• First prize for Comfort Conditions
• Second prize for Industrialisation and Market Viability
• Third prize for Architecture
• Third prize for Engineering and Construction
• Extra prize for the lighting concept

24 July - 3 October 2010: Bavarian State Horticultural Show in Rosenheim
17-22 January 2011: BAU 2011 in Munich
From 1 May 2011: 10-year use as a home in the zero-energy city in the Mietraching district of Bad Aibling.