MADE OF CLAY AND STEEL, A HOUSE IN VOLKETSWIL
On the outskirts of Volketswil, a house has been built according to the principles of circular economy and sustainable building. The supporting structure is a steel frame made of recyclable IPE and HEA profiles. This is combined, inside and outside, with clay-based building materials.
This unusual design originates from a seemingly common yet specific situation. The clients desired healthy living conditions. The existing building, originally constructed as a semi-detached house, presents dependencies due to its direct connection to the existing structure. The schedule was tight. This challenging environment offered us, as planners, the opportunity to re-examine our established practices and develop unconventional solutions with the potential for multifaceted added value.
A bolted steel frame was erected on top of the existing basement. For the ceilings, dimensionally stable clay bricks are embedded in the lower flanges of the beams – mass that offers advantages in terms of building physics. The same clay bricks are used as facing bricks in the facade, giving the building a distinctive appearance in both material and form.
