Innosuisse Flagship: Think Earth - Regenerative Building
Case Study, Pavilion Manal. Image © Stefan Wülser
Duration /
2023-2028
Subproject /
Integration & Case Studies
Funding /
Innosuisse
Subproject Lead /
Chair of Architecture and Building Systems A /S, ETH Zurich
Research Partners /
Lehrstuhl für Tragwerksentwurf, ETH Zurich
Professur Boltshauser, ETH Zurich
Hochschule Luzern (HSLU)
Industry Partners /
Oxara AG, REMATTER, Marti AG, Küng Holzbau AG, Blanco AD, TEN Studio, WaltGalmarini AG, Schnetzer Puskas Ingenieure AG, Waldhauser + Hermann AG
The InnoSuisse Flagship Think Earth - Regenerative Building presents a fundamental transformation process towards climate-neutral construction with wood and clay. It will be conducted in three stages between 2023 and 2028 and will incorporate ten subprojects that focus on materials/processes, engineering/architecture and general conditions.
The subproject (SP9) “Integration & Case Studies,” which is led by our group, aims to advance the formalization and demonstration of an integrated design process that incorporates clay and wood seamlessly into architectural designs. To improve the understanding of the interaction between materials, people and the environment, we investigate the use of local potentials in combination with earth and wood (e.g. use of passive solar gains), the influence of hybrid earth/wood elements on comfort (e.g. temperature sensation, humidity and acoustics) and the influence of earth/wood buildings on the environment (e.g. via greenhouse gas emission accounting during construction and operation).
Together with partners from academia and industry, we will collaborate holistically to integrate the two materials within 5 different case study buildings, while monitoring that design objectives are met and validated during and after implementation. The integrated design and monitoring approach will be developed and tested in the Zero Carbon Building Systems Lab at ETH Zürich, the Pavillion Manal at HSLU in Horw, Lucerne and the Humanitas Building in Acquarossa, Ticino. The latter is currently serving as a case study in our design studio “Design for Climate” where we investigate the impact of earth and sun on building design in collaboration with Studio Boltshauser and the Chair of Architectural Behaviorology at ETH Zurich.
The coproduction of knowledge will be further facilitated via a digital platform and workshops where experiences and data from research and practice are shared. By actively involving all research partners and incorporating specialist knowledge from different domains, risks are reduced, confidence in practical implementation is strengthened and ultimately the basis for broad scaling is created.
The main objectives of the SP9 are:
1. Formalization and demonstration of an integrated design workflow for the holistic integration of hybrid earth/wood elements in architecture;
2. Demonstrate applications of innovative multifunctional earth/wood elements in case studies and measure their impact on the indoor climate;
3. Establish and maintain a digital platform and conduct workshops to exchange knowledge, experience and recommendations from the applications/measurement campaigns.