In just 25 sq m, cutting-edge materials and technologies combine to monitor environmental and physiological parameters. In Biosphera 2.0, the home and its inhabitants become one.
Biosphera 2.0 needs no utility connections. Biosphera 2.0 is the first passive home with zero energy consumption, inaugurated in Courmayeur in March 2016, which then toured a further seven Italian cities, with its final stop in Bolzano until the end of January 2017. A 25-square-metre residential module, self-sufficient in energy terms and capable of maintaining constant living comfort throughout the year, whatever the climate outside.
It is the first itinerant passive house experiment: to test the performance of the residential module, Biosphera 2.0 literally moved through eight locations, ranging from -15 degrees in Courmayeur in winter to nearly 40 in Rimini in summer. Over 12 months, both the external and internal environmental parameters of the home and the physiological parameters of its inhabitants were monitored. Because living comfort is the ultimate goal of this project: the human being at the centre of their habitat, namely the home.
"Biosphera was born from an almost poetic idea," explains Mirko Taglietti, founder of the construction company Aktivhaus and the father of the project. "That it is possible to remain disconnected from gas and electricity and still live in a situation of what is defined as living comfort." An environment with constant temperatures, high air quality, natural light, natural materials.
This result was achieved thanks to a workshop attended by more than 100 architecture students from across Italy, organised in collaboration with the Politecnico di Torino Dipartimento di Architettura e Design, the Università della Valle d'Aosta and by institutes and agencies such as Zephir – Passivhaus Italia, Minergie and companies such as Aktivhaus and Vallée d'Aoste structure.
Biosphera 2.0 is capable of maintaining an internal temperature of 21 degrees Celsius in winter and 25 degrees in summer without any external energy input. Without, however, forgoing any of the services a home must have: a living room, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom.
But the true revolution of the project concerns the monitoring of the quality of life of the inhabitants inside the home. "The occupants are equipped with a wearable wristband (originally developed for epilepsy monitoring, ed.) capable of measuring parameters such as heart rate, blood volume, temperature and what is known as electrodermal activity," Taglietti continues. Depending on how these parameters vary, what is objectively defined as emotional wellbeing or stress is generated. "We correlate the parameters between the dwelling and its performance and the sensations of the human being living in it."
What is more, the home also measures the environmental stresses recorded in cities such as Milan and Turin, assessing levels of air and noise pollution and arriving at reference values based on the location where Biosphera 2.0 is situated.
LED lighting, induction hob, household appliances, heating and cooling, photovoltaic and thermal systems. Technologies chosen to make the module self-sufficient and to meet the certification parameters for passive buildings. A technological core manages incoming energy by means of a molten-salt battery and a heat pump that controls heat and cooling flows.
The load-bearing structure was built in wood, specifically X-Lam, rigorously Pefc-certified – sourced from Italian fir trees from a sustainable supply chain. For the insulation and external cladding, rock wool by Rockwool was used, giving the exterior that "metallic" effect. "As a company we have always focused on energy efficiency and believed in the concept of the passive house," explains architect Alessandro Sibille from Rockwool's technical promotion department. "For this reason we took part in the construction of Biosphera, because we believe that this building model should become accessible to everyone – indeed, it should be accessible precisely to the most disadvantaged users. That is, those who need comfort and energy savings the most." To this end, an external insulation system and ventilated-facade cladding were used, one of the solutions offered by the company. "Biosphera is a fantastic ambassador for environmental wellbeing," concludes Sibille.