Five Cube
2020
Competition
DATA.
Regina Bitterlich
Microhome Competition
25m2
with
for
S
Two parking spaces - this is how much it takes to create a home
5 CUBE is a 5 x 5 x 5 meters prefabricated dwelling made from sustainable material. The cube is autark, enabling a free placement without invasive site preparations. This makes it possible to transform parking lots into valuable building sites for urban microhomes that can help to meet the demand for the so urgently needed housing in cities.
Proposal:
The proposal is based on redesigning outdated urban spaces. Parking lots - often half empty become voids in city space. The 5 cube is designed to adapt and to reuse parking lots by turning them into housing sites. With its footprint of 5x5 meters it occupies only two parking spaces and can be placed anywhere. Placed in the outskirts it can bring diversity to mono-scale residential districts. Placed in dense city environment it can create attractive central homes on otherwise unused spaces.
Material and construction:
Being a byproduct of the changing urban environment the 5 cube uses sustainable and recycled materials as well as waste products of the construction industry. The bearing structure is made of CLT, allowing the cube to be prefabricated and quickly assembled on site. The insulation is made from recycled fabric. The facade is covered in mineral bonded wood wool boards, that are very cost effcient. The roof is sloping inwards which allows an optimal collection of rainwater which is fltered and used for household purposes and for the rooftop garden.
Technical solutions/ Energy/ Off-grid
The 5 cube uses solar energy for producing electricity, heat and cooling. The main source of energy is the Compressed Air Energy Storage system powered by solar panels. CAES offers a very sustainable energy producing solution and is taking care of two most power-consuming functions heating and cooling. During the process of compressing air it generates heat as a byproduct which is then used to warm up water. Compressed air is released to produce electricity and in the process cold is generated which then powers the refrigerator.
Whenever the energy to cool/ heat is not suffcient the system switches to complementary lithium-ion batteries to assure uninterrupted functioning. The sewage is based on nano membrane toilet design which processes waste without the need to be connected to the city grid. The planlayout allows interconnection of all systems due to its proximity.