T_haus [Temporal.haus]

Neutral Carbon Materials, Passive House Premium, Cradle to Cradle Design

The resilient structure of T_haus can last centuries, but conversely, its intended use is refreshed continuously. Housing a diverse group of climate refugees and hosting mobile food trucks for the community the project activates a sidewalk culture on America’s original strip mall.

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ProPublica: Where Will Everyone Go?

WATCH

Hosted by the ECC for the Venice Architecture Biennale May 22-November 21, 2021

Many thanks to the lead sponsor BECK LIGNOLOC® Wooden Nails

21st Century Shophouse

LIVING WITH CLIMATE DISRUPTION

Time is perhaps the most subtle of dimensions for which to design. As social, economic, and climate conditions evolve, a building’s use and impact has to adapt daily and for generations. The schematic proposal Temporal.haus (T.haus) is a home for refugees from Central America as part of what will be the largest human migration in history due to climate change by utilizing a programmatically elastic support structure anchored by a mobile food pavilion.

Historically, urban buildings were often conceived as a shophouse for a family to reside and enjoy a livelihood in a single building. T.haus apartments will host couples and individuals on the lower floors and the upper floors are reserved for families. Three floors contain a small community kitchen and balcony linked by an exterior staircase. A workspace and classroom are in the core of the building and the rooftop is utilized as an open school protected by a solar canopy.
Inspired by our mobile espresso bar Sol Coffee, at street level a white porcelain tiled curved pavilion will support the bourgeoning food truck scene of Los Angeles. This reclaiming the sidewalk and strips of tarmac of Wilshire Boulevard, ironically the birthplace of the modern strip mall, humanizes hyperlocal economic and community engagement.

PROGRAM

THE DESIGN OF TRANSITION
Eateries have always been a catalyst through which urban cultural and economies can prosper, especially for transitioning communities. Brick-and-mortar is no longer a viable solution for many small food businesses which have chosen to mobilize their efforts.

T.haus is layered to transition from the street to a protected refuge hosting these micro mobile businesses. The softscape and esthetically uncluttered building frontage is inspired by the contemporary buildings of Kyoto, Japan. The everchanging collection of independent food trucks is supported by an informal eating space, shaded place to queue, restrooms, and complimented with a small bar. A commissary kitchen supports food trucks as well as the building’s residents who can develop their own food-based enterprise or support the rotating trucks.

MATERIALS

LignoLoc Wooden Nail Cross Laminated Timber and Nail Laminated Timber

Philosophy & History

In their search for an industrially available and indigenous type of wood for ecological timber construction, BECK engineers came across a material made of compressed beech wood.

The phenomenon of “lignin welding” is created by a special design of the LignoLoc® nail tip and the amount of heat generated by friction when the nail is driven in at a high speed. This will cause the lignin of the wooden nail to weld with the surrounding timber to form a substance-to-substance bond.

Environmental impact

The Central European beech wood from sustainable FSC forestry is a renewable raw material with short transport routes. According to a study by the Nova Institute, the production of a LignoLoc® wood nail causes only 25 % of the greenhouse gases compared to a technically similar steel nail, with 70 % lower CO2 emissions vs. conventional systems.

Mass timber construction

The larger diameter nails can accommodate higher shear values, thick panels can be fastened (more easily), e.g. solid wood panels or OSB and plywood panels over 24 mm. LignoLoc® can also help to reduce the production time of glued CLT by doing the process without a press. After adding each layer, the boards will be attached to the lower layer with LignoLoc® nails. The nails will apply the necessary compression for the glue in order to cure.

Planks and panels made of solid timber, wood-based materials or gypsum fiber can be attached to wood building materials using LignoLoc® wooden nails. In addition, connections can be made with LignoLoc® to produce bracing and load-bearing wall diaphragms.

Ecococon Straw Panel

Straw Panels

EcoCocon panels are made of 98% natural renewable materials consisting of specially packed straw and FSC wood. Thanks to its unique cellular structure, straw has been used in construction for thousands of years. With good lambda values, no thermal bridging, and easily achieved airtightness, reaching the Passivhaus standard is simplified.

The panels are a Passive House certified component for most climates. Based on the EPD calculation, each m2 of wall sequesters approx. 97.6 kg of CO2

Durability

The straw in the panels is compressed at a density of 110kg/m³ (6.9 Ib/ft3), not leaving space for oxygen that would fuel the fire. Moreover, straw has a high content of silica, a natural fire retardant. When burning, both materials create a charcoal insulation layer on the surface that protects them from flames.

Any gaps in the construction can lead to warm, moist air escaping and condensing in the structure. The airtight layer ensures that your construction has an extraordinarily long life without any hidden damage.

The panels have been tested for seismic conditions.

Panelization

The panels are prefabricated in a factory under rigorously controlled conditions, allowing for high specifications. Since the panels are precisely placed, with no wet processes, this allows the building to be assembled in less time compared to traditional construction.

CARBON

Net embodied carbon

+224 kgCO e/m2

*Net embodied carbon neutral when excluding solar photovoltaic arrays

503 metric tons total Co2 net, 60 year basis. Assumes reuse of all timber, solar panels replaced every 30 years, windows replaced every 50 years, mechanical replaced every 25 years.

Embodied Carbon calculation utilizing the PHribbon

GENERATIONAL RESILIENCE

As the largest single long term contributor to climate change buildings require a carbon-responsive design that is both low in embodied and operational energy. T.haus is optimized and verified using Passivhaus energy modeling reducing the need for energy services by up to 80% with modest on site solar energy and battery back-up providing carbon free real time energy usage based on the Primary Energy Renewable (PER) methodology.

Diagonal sheer Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) utilizing LignoLock wooden nails constitutes a three story podium and Nail Laminated Timber (NLT) with a proprietary low carbon concrete topping slab makes up each floor. The upper four stories are built with Ecococon Straw Panels, a passivhaus certified component. Tilt and turn 4 by 8 foot timber certified windows by Advantage Architectural Woodwork opens into each living space. Much of the building can be reclaimed or composted.

PASSIVE HOUSE

Temporal.haus is modeled as a certified Passive House Premium, with support in energy modeling by the Passivhaus Institut, Germany.

The international standard focuses on two interdependent goals, lowered carbon emissions and improved living conditions. Significant energy reduction is achieved through a fabric-first approach. The parametric energy modeling utilizes high performance windows and doors, increased insulation levels, air tightness, reduced thermal bridging, a simplified and optimized form factor, and reduced envelope penetrations.