Ankis Naturhus
Our client Anki came to us with a beautiful forest plot near Söderåsen’s National park in Skåne (in the south of Sweden). She had bought 4 existing housing units for temporary accommodation second hand. Could you maybe put them in a greenhouse?
The vision is; A nearly self-sustainable house regarding energy, water and nutrition. This is achieved by the integration of an unheated greenhouse in combination with well insulated, heated living modules. The greenhouse protects the heated modules and reduces the energy-loss. The greenhouse also creates a Mediterranean-like climate with an extended growing season in the greywater-irrigated, food producing plantbeds on the roofterrace. Rainwater is harvested from the roof and reused. Electricity is produced by the solarcells in the glassroof. A house where the eco-cycles are closed on an extremely local scale – within a single house.
Architecture:
The house is a permanent residence for 2 people divided into one private sleeping module and one module for kitchen and friends visiting. They are connected by the ”conservatory” – a heated greenhouse-like room for dining and socializing that functions as a greenhouse-within-the-greenhouse. During the summer months, the sliding glass door opens up and the boundary against the outer greenhouse space is blurred. The sleeping modules and conservatory are enclosed by a greenhouse in single glass only heated by the sun. It creates fantastic outdoor spaces on the large roof terrace. The rather compact home (90 m2 heated livingarea) flows out into the 150 m2 greenhouse that extends over two floors. Compact AND generous.
Eco-Cycle systems:
The household’s gray water (bath, shower, laundry) is collected in a tank, and then distributed out into several plant beds for the cultivation of vegetables and greenery on the roof terrace. Irrigation and nourishment to the plants while simultaneously purifying waste water. In this project, the remaining about 10% of the waste water (black water from WC) is led to municipal sewage in the street. The black-water can also be recycled, but it requires larger plantbeds. (see project: Uppgrenna Naturhus). It is also a matter of legislation about the municipal sewer-system on the specific site. Rainwater is collected from the greenhouse roof and collected in a pond. It is reused for flushing WC and for irrigation of plants in the greenhouse and the garden. This saves great amounts of freshwater every year – a resource becoming more and more scarce, even in Sweden, due to climate change.
Greenhouse:
The greenhouse has a gluelam wood frame. The glass shell resting on the gluelam frame is constructed by 4mm hardened single-glass, kept in place by aluminium profiles. The greenhouse is only heated by the sun and the temperature varies from around zero degrees on winter and up to 35 degrees on the roofterrace the hottest days in the summer. The heat is regulated by temperature regulated ventilation hatches running all along the ridge. Shadow is also achiewed from the integrated solarcells, the surrounding trees and eventually, climbing greenery inside the greenhouse.
Energy efficiency:
The house is heated and ventilated with FTX technology for maximum heat recovery. Solar cells are integrated into the roof of the greenhouse and in combination with battery storage and a charging station for electric cars, most of the household’s electricity consumption is produced locally. The greenhouse’s protective effect keeps the heat losses from the house’s heated parts down and the total energy performance of the home becomes very good.
Status:
Anki have moved in to her new home in August 2021 and is now exploring it. An ambition is that this home can be a showcase and part of the time be open to visitors.
