Reconnecting with nature
House 001
First Autonomous House 001 is 30 sq.m. off-grid levitating house for full year living.
House 001 is an experiment on how we will live in near future, with full harmony with nature and ourselves. The first radically sustainable house with minimal intervention into its environment. Biophilic design and regenerative approach are key concepts. Built in Ukraine during the war. For the World.
Ukraine
Local
Ivano-Frankivsk city, Zahvizdya village, horticultural society "Nadrichne"
It addresses urban-rural linkages
It refers to a physical transformation of the built environment (hard investment)
Yes
2025-01-31
No
No
Yes
No
Yes
As a representative of an organisation
The idea of the project was born in early 2021 - to build a first prototype of a house or housing complex following principles of regenerative architecture and design, in particular:
- all electric off-grid tiny house
- built using natural materials (main structure), no cement usage at all
- levitating design (on pillars), thus minimal intervention into nature
- autonomy on energy, water and waste
- comfortable and healthy environment for residents is a priority
- affordable and inclusive.
Even before the war there was an understanding of the following:
- buildings' lifecycle contribute around 40% of global CO2 emissions, 70% of global energy consumption and 65% of waste
- water saving, recycling and purification is important, as even Ukraine will face water scarcity by 2050
- current way of urban and rural development negatively affects biodiversity.
During the war in Ukraine many of these issues started to have strong effect on national level, such as electricity blackouts, building waste, lack of access to clean water. Also the river water quality has deteriorated significantly.
We feel our project became even more important as it creates a new opportunity for anyone willing to build or renovate a house, to consider a radically new approach and as an outcome to have a self-sufficient solution, not needing utilities connection, affordable and simple to build, similar to IKEA approach. When the building is no more needed, it can be fully disassembled and recycled, or assembled elsewhere. No need to hire professional builders, only some supervision may be necessary.
Our goal was to get to a point where 1 sq.m. of such house, fully furnished, worth $1000, including materials and labour. Even for a test house we almost achieved this level. Other outcomes:
- 9 months of a year full energy autonomy, including EV charging
- almost full year of water autonomy
- composting toilet works great
- soil under the house is ready for planting.
- all electric off-grid tiny house
- built using natural materials (main structure), no cement usage at all
- levitating design (on pillars), thus minimal intervention into nature
- autonomy on energy, water and waste
- comfortable and healthy environment for residents is a priority
- affordable and inclusive.
Even before the war there was an understanding of the following:
- buildings' lifecycle contribute around 40% of global CO2 emissions, 70% of global energy consumption and 65% of waste
- water saving, recycling and purification is important, as even Ukraine will face water scarcity by 2050
- current way of urban and rural development negatively affects biodiversity.
During the war in Ukraine many of these issues started to have strong effect on national level, such as electricity blackouts, building waste, lack of access to clean water. Also the river water quality has deteriorated significantly.
We feel our project became even more important as it creates a new opportunity for anyone willing to build or renovate a house, to consider a radically new approach and as an outcome to have a self-sufficient solution, not needing utilities connection, affordable and simple to build, similar to IKEA approach. When the building is no more needed, it can be fully disassembled and recycled, or assembled elsewhere. No need to hire professional builders, only some supervision may be necessary.
Our goal was to get to a point where 1 sq.m. of such house, fully furnished, worth $1000, including materials and labour. Even for a test house we almost achieved this level. Other outcomes:
- 9 months of a year full energy autonomy, including EV charging
- almost full year of water autonomy
- composting toilet works great
- soil under the house is ready for planting.
Regenerative design
Non intervention into nature
Autonomous off-grid houses
Healthy and circular materials
Human centric approach
We've set high bar in terms of sustainability:
- minimal CO2 footprint during the whole lifecycle of a building
- zero usage of cement
- natural materials of the structure of a building and insulation
- high energy efficiency allowing to reach autonomy
- no needing for a septic tank
- no needing for a well, rain water fulfils all the needs
- organic waste recycling on premise
- absence of "wet" processes in building, design for disassembly.
The exemplary idea was to get the best features from traditional natural buildings world, like hemp, earth, wood, clay, and combine them with modern energy efficiency approaches like Passive House, while making sure no fossil fuels are used for heating and cooking. And in the same time to design a building system that would work like IKEA, allowing fast and affordable building and re-building. We see this as an open-sourced solution that anyone can use to build a house, adapting to local climate and local materials, of course. Also we see big impact in using stilts based foundation, because:
- no need for concrete
- fast and relatively easy to build, even on slopes
- nature under the house remains almost untouched
- protection from floods and moisture overall
- protection from pests
- good ventilation.
So how these have been met.
- CO2 footprint is absolutely minimal in a tiny all electric house. Sawdust, used in insulation, even captures CO2. Solar energy was used for building
- we ended up not using cement even for warm floor screed
- building structure is light metal frame and wooden frame, insulation is sawdust, interior is AMF Heradesign panels and wooden floor, roof and facade is metal
- autonomy by energy is 9 months of a year, but with wind power a full year is achievable, water autonomy is almost full year
- composting toilet replaces a septic tank
- water is collected from rain, no well was dug
- composting pile treats human and kitchen waste
- no "wet" processes were used.
- minimal CO2 footprint during the whole lifecycle of a building
- zero usage of cement
- natural materials of the structure of a building and insulation
- high energy efficiency allowing to reach autonomy
- no needing for a septic tank
- no needing for a well, rain water fulfils all the needs
- organic waste recycling on premise
- absence of "wet" processes in building, design for disassembly.
The exemplary idea was to get the best features from traditional natural buildings world, like hemp, earth, wood, clay, and combine them with modern energy efficiency approaches like Passive House, while making sure no fossil fuels are used for heating and cooking. And in the same time to design a building system that would work like IKEA, allowing fast and affordable building and re-building. We see this as an open-sourced solution that anyone can use to build a house, adapting to local climate and local materials, of course. Also we see big impact in using stilts based foundation, because:
- no need for concrete
- fast and relatively easy to build, even on slopes
- nature under the house remains almost untouched
- protection from floods and moisture overall
- protection from pests
- good ventilation.
So how these have been met.
- CO2 footprint is absolutely minimal in a tiny all electric house. Sawdust, used in insulation, even captures CO2. Solar energy was used for building
- we ended up not using cement even for warm floor screed
- building structure is light metal frame and wooden frame, insulation is sawdust, interior is AMF Heradesign panels and wooden floor, roof and facade is metal
- autonomy by energy is 9 months of a year, but with wind power a full year is achievable, water autonomy is almost full year
- composting toilet replaces a septic tank
- water is collected from rain, no well was dug
- composting pile treats human and kitchen waste
- no "wet" processes were used.
\When it comes to aesthetics and quality of experience for people, our bar was raised even higher than for sustainability. We are fans of Bauhaus and wanted to create something minimalistic and functional, but with exceptional details to comfort. Photos will describe better, but let's first focus on areas where we even had to sacrifice the cost of materials in favour of aesthetics and quality of experience:
- interior AMF Heradesign panels is material that creates a unique look and feel of walls and ceiling. Visitors often want to touch them. But also they create amazing acoustic experience. Our house has a room with a projector and 2.1 sound system. The quality of sound there can be compared with a professional sound studio!
- steel grating that we used for the ramp, staircase and all terraces of the first floor. Not just very functional, as it creates anti-slip surface and is never wet, and does not require maintenance. But also it allows plants to grow thru it, which creates the aesthetics of synergy, coexistence of humans and nature.
I’d like to highlight an interesting exemplary aesthetics outdoor solution - turning fences into a places to display art, if it can withstand weather, of course. So, a regular pathway can turn into an outdoor gallery. This art emphasises the message that we’re trying to send via our project.
Big windows facing south and west allow lots of natural light and the ability to enjoy sunsets. Air recuperators are controlled by air quality sensors. Bathroom has glass walls lit from inside using smart LEDs, creating outstanding shower experience.
Back to the outdoor areas. We use crushed stone for pathways and the parking lot. This creates interesting aesthetics, but also allows nature below to be alive - small grass and some weeds keep growing thru it, which creates an exemplary solution of coexistence of humans and nature. We’ve planted a lot of ivy, covering almost all fences, so in couple years we expect to see beautiful hedge.
- interior AMF Heradesign panels is material that creates a unique look and feel of walls and ceiling. Visitors often want to touch them. But also they create amazing acoustic experience. Our house has a room with a projector and 2.1 sound system. The quality of sound there can be compared with a professional sound studio!
- steel grating that we used for the ramp, staircase and all terraces of the first floor. Not just very functional, as it creates anti-slip surface and is never wet, and does not require maintenance. But also it allows plants to grow thru it, which creates the aesthetics of synergy, coexistence of humans and nature.
I’d like to highlight an interesting exemplary aesthetics outdoor solution - turning fences into a places to display art, if it can withstand weather, of course. So, a regular pathway can turn into an outdoor gallery. This art emphasises the message that we’re trying to send via our project.
Big windows facing south and west allow lots of natural light and the ability to enjoy sunsets. Air recuperators are controlled by air quality sensors. Bathroom has glass walls lit from inside using smart LEDs, creating outstanding shower experience.
Back to the outdoor areas. We use crushed stone for pathways and the parking lot. This creates interesting aesthetics, but also allows nature below to be alive - small grass and some weeds keep growing thru it, which creates an exemplary solution of coexistence of humans and nature. We’ve planted a lot of ivy, covering almost all fences, so in couple years we expect to see beautiful hedge.
Inclusivity and Design for All principle play important part in our project. We believe all essential functions of a house should be accessible without stairs, thus making such functions accessible for people with disabilities and elderly individuals. Entrance to a house should be from the ground level or from a ramp. In the House 001 we’ve build a ramp with very shallow incline, connected to the main terrace. We also have a second floor accessible by stairs, but it contains not essential function, like exploitable roof, and the sauna in a future. But still we plan to build an elevator to get there, to make the full house fully inclusive.
Talking about affordability, it’s crucial part of our concept. Our goal is to have a technology allowing to build an autonomous eco-friendly all electric house for $1000 a square meter. That would be affordable for many, even in Ukraine. The fact that the technology will be open-sourced, makes it even more affordable for those who can build with own hands, as the cost of materials and equipment should be around $500-600 a sq.m. We believe this actually creates the new societal model around affordable housing. Many believe that building a house is expensive, long-term and risky, also you need utilities connection. Our model is - House for All. Anyone who can use a screwdriver, can build a house, not harder than an IKEA drawer. Also it’s fun - to build your own house - it creates a connection, it motivates to learn new skills and to have a great outcome, a home, a place to live.
In Ukraine after the war, we really want to implement a new model for demobilised soldiers - offer them an opportunity to help them to build their own home. This would be crucial as mental recovery, first of all. But also it is crucial as the rebuilding of Ukraine. And if Ukraine is re-builded using such houses, that would create a great transformation within Ukraine, as such houses not just transform a built environment, they transform the lifestyle.
Talking about affordability, it’s crucial part of our concept. Our goal is to have a technology allowing to build an autonomous eco-friendly all electric house for $1000 a square meter. That would be affordable for many, even in Ukraine. The fact that the technology will be open-sourced, makes it even more affordable for those who can build with own hands, as the cost of materials and equipment should be around $500-600 a sq.m. We believe this actually creates the new societal model around affordable housing. Many believe that building a house is expensive, long-term and risky, also you need utilities connection. Our model is - House for All. Anyone who can use a screwdriver, can build a house, not harder than an IKEA drawer. Also it’s fun - to build your own house - it creates a connection, it motivates to learn new skills and to have a great outcome, a home, a place to live.
In Ukraine after the war, we really want to implement a new model for demobilised soldiers - offer them an opportunity to help them to build their own home. This would be crucial as mental recovery, first of all. But also it is crucial as the rebuilding of Ukraine. And if Ukraine is re-builded using such houses, that would create a great transformation within Ukraine, as such houses not just transform a built environment, they transform the lifestyle.
Our house was built by volunteers, to the large extent. And even 3D visualisations were made by a volunteer from Italy. It feels awesome that people grasped our idea, concept and message, and also were attracted by an opportunity to get hands dirty, learn building skills and, essentially, bring this project to life, as during the war most volunteering activities are concentrated around helping the army, of course. Overall 8 people were involved in various building activities, like welding, working with crushed stone, timber, painting, insulation using sawdust, installing geo screws, furniture design and assembly, plumbing, electrical works, interior panels installation, 3D visualisations and many others. We did not have particular roles, just projects, some time and a vision. I believe, during the war, we were feeling especially motivated to do something useful for our community and our country. Creating a new home allows to host IDPs, so we wanted to do it as quickly as possible.
But for now, as the first stage of project is finished, how are we going to use the house?
House 001 was never intended to be used as a single family home. From day 1 the idea was to open it to as broader audience as possible. I’ve attached the PDF with concept of such house (or housing complex) from 2021. The idea was to have a role of a community hub, dedicated to sustainable technologies. But also a hotel role, allowing many visitors to experience how it is to be in such a unique house. A house that functions like Nature. During the last 2 years we’ve hosted Open House Days 3 times, allowing community to grow and to start feeling our project as early as possible. Always we had a tour explaining how the house works, which systems it has, and some numbers regarding performance. Also we had 3 public presentations about the project.
For now the first role we focus on is coworking space. BTW the house has reliable internet without wires. And also the public space by parking lot.
But for now, as the first stage of project is finished, how are we going to use the house?
House 001 was never intended to be used as a single family home. From day 1 the idea was to open it to as broader audience as possible. I’ve attached the PDF with concept of such house (or housing complex) from 2021. The idea was to have a role of a community hub, dedicated to sustainable technologies. But also a hotel role, allowing many visitors to experience how it is to be in such a unique house. A house that functions like Nature. During the last 2 years we’ve hosted Open House Days 3 times, allowing community to grow and to start feeling our project as early as possible. Always we had a tour explaining how the house works, which systems it has, and some numbers regarding performance. Also we had 3 public presentations about the project.
For now the first role we focus on is coworking space. BTW the house has reliable internet without wires. And also the public space by parking lot.
At local level there was a common effort of volunteers, some of which happened to be members of neighbouring Krishna temple ISKCON. For such people building process may be considered sacred, especially building of something public, like a temple, or like House 001, that intended to become a temple of sustainability. Some visitors gave advices, some tried to understand the technology, but the majority were inspired by our idea and were wishing us all the best.
Going to more regional level, in 120 km from our build, in the mountains, there is retreat center and permaculture community Tepla Gora https://teplagora.org/en and I should mention in 2022 we were going to build House 001 there. While planning this, we were contributing to infrastructure development at Tepla Gora, including installing solar systems, batteries, ground works for installing the wind turbine and also we developed the rain water catchment and storage system, that was named “Water Lab” There were many discussions regarding building the actual house.
I’d also add, at inter country level, we had a collaboration with EIT when we participated in EIT Jumpstarter Online Bootcamps in 2023. We’ve received a lot of great mentorship and suggestions on how to develop our project. But in the end we realised that our project is not a startup and decided to quit the program.
That was building phase, but before that, in 2021, there was a big effort with architects with the goal to find - what do we actually want to build and why. The result of this was compiled to the album, that I’ve attached to this application. Also during this time there was a lot of connections with different companies, that we have been considering as contractors that will build the house and its various subsystems, such as heating, plumbing, water recycling etc. We attended webinars around building overall and building with hemp in particular. We are still believers in this, just decided to not use it because of cost and “wet” processes.
Going to more regional level, in 120 km from our build, in the mountains, there is retreat center and permaculture community Tepla Gora https://teplagora.org/en and I should mention in 2022 we were going to build House 001 there. While planning this, we were contributing to infrastructure development at Tepla Gora, including installing solar systems, batteries, ground works for installing the wind turbine and also we developed the rain water catchment and storage system, that was named “Water Lab” There were many discussions regarding building the actual house.
I’d also add, at inter country level, we had a collaboration with EIT when we participated in EIT Jumpstarter Online Bootcamps in 2023. We’ve received a lot of great mentorship and suggestions on how to develop our project. But in the end we realised that our project is not a startup and decided to quit the program.
That was building phase, but before that, in 2021, there was a big effort with architects with the goal to find - what do we actually want to build and why. The result of this was compiled to the album, that I’ve attached to this application. Also during this time there was a lot of connections with different companies, that we have been considering as contractors that will build the house and its various subsystems, such as heating, plumbing, water recycling etc. We attended webinars around building overall and building with hemp in particular. We are still believers in this, just decided to not use it because of cost and “wet” processes.
Our project is a balanced combination of topics becoming more and more important nowadays.
Starting with Natural Building which we consider a great way, but quite complicated and time consuming, also usually fossil fuels is used for heating. We combined natural materials with modern technology, such a heat pumps (BTW we’ve created a DIY version), Li-Ion batteries, solar panels, wind turbines, Smart Home, sensors, such as air quality, also geo-screws, standing seam metal roofing, water recycling systems, recuperators, EV charging from solar, prefab housing etc.
Next, there is an important concept, especially in Ukraine nowadays, of Energy Independence, We believe in near future solar/wind powered communities will become a part of micro-grids and not only be self-sustainable but be able to accumulate and provide energy in decentralised way. Such grid we are building now around House 001 with the intention to connect 2 neighbouring homes and start sharing energy.
But water self-reliance is as important as energy. We collect and use rain water but we want to scale this solution, maybe using a pool, to be able to become fully water independent and also not reliant on any kind of drilling for water, which destroys the ecosystem.
Next, non-intervention into nature concept. A house or a city should not take the land from nature, or at least take as little as possible. Of course, should not pollute the land/air/water in any way. Instead, rural and urban communities can become centres of regeneration, by improving biodiversity, using permaculture practices, natural materials and so on. A house can live like a tree: collecting sun, rain and wind for existence, it grows, absorbing CO2 and providing shade for other species, and in the end become a nourishing material for a new life.
Next, mixed use concept. The same building can be used for living, working, studying, eating, having retreat or a party, can have a green roof for growing food, can be a community hub etc.
Starting with Natural Building which we consider a great way, but quite complicated and time consuming, also usually fossil fuels is used for heating. We combined natural materials with modern technology, such a heat pumps (BTW we’ve created a DIY version), Li-Ion batteries, solar panels, wind turbines, Smart Home, sensors, such as air quality, also geo-screws, standing seam metal roofing, water recycling systems, recuperators, EV charging from solar, prefab housing etc.
Next, there is an important concept, especially in Ukraine nowadays, of Energy Independence, We believe in near future solar/wind powered communities will become a part of micro-grids and not only be self-sustainable but be able to accumulate and provide energy in decentralised way. Such grid we are building now around House 001 with the intention to connect 2 neighbouring homes and start sharing energy.
But water self-reliance is as important as energy. We collect and use rain water but we want to scale this solution, maybe using a pool, to be able to become fully water independent and also not reliant on any kind of drilling for water, which destroys the ecosystem.
Next, non-intervention into nature concept. A house or a city should not take the land from nature, or at least take as little as possible. Of course, should not pollute the land/air/water in any way. Instead, rural and urban communities can become centres of regeneration, by improving biodiversity, using permaculture practices, natural materials and so on. A house can live like a tree: collecting sun, rain and wind for existence, it grows, absorbing CO2 and providing shade for other species, and in the end become a nourishing material for a new life.
Next, mixed use concept. The same building can be used for living, working, studying, eating, having retreat or a party, can have a green roof for growing food, can be a community hub etc.
Mainstream building innovates quite slowly, we believe, because of weak demand for the different lifestyle that can be offered only by completely re-thought approach. Our way is like iPhone or Tesla - offer something that potential audience did not ask for but what would be exciting to try, once it becomes available. In other words, what sets the new level of experience. In the same time, it should not necessarily be a premium product. NEB way is about affordability and inclusion. So, our main innovation is pushing for fully autonomous house while using natural materials and keeping cost at the level of a mainstream house of the same footprint, or even lower. Full autonomy in a climate like in Western Ukraine would be possible to achieve by a complex of a house, solar array partially mounted on the house, partially elsewhere, a wind turbine of around 4-5 KW or 2-3 smaller ones, and a large water storage not less than 10 tons, potentially in the form of pool. However, partial autonomy of around 80% of the year is WAY easier and cheaper to achieve, but it would require a connection to a grid or generator, and also to some water source.
Why full and affordable autonomy is important? Because it will allow to develop the built environment in a different way. Instead of engineering of complicated and costly utilities (energy, gas, water, heat, sewage, internet) we would be able to just build houses anywhere we like, and without harming nature. We would need just micro-grids for sharing the energy locally and also big local storage of heat energy may be needed to use in winter the energy collected in summer. This transformative approach would allow cities and towns to become less centralised, to sprawl, and better intertwine with nature. Also it would be easier to live in very remote zones year round.
Other innovations we were working on is DIY heat pump, converted from a regular AC, a water recirculating system called ShowerLoop and a cheap incinerating toilet.
Why full and affordable autonomy is important? Because it will allow to develop the built environment in a different way. Instead of engineering of complicated and costly utilities (energy, gas, water, heat, sewage, internet) we would be able to just build houses anywhere we like, and without harming nature. We would need just micro-grids for sharing the energy locally and also big local storage of heat energy may be needed to use in winter the energy collected in summer. This transformative approach would allow cities and towns to become less centralised, to sprawl, and better intertwine with nature. Also it would be easier to live in very remote zones year round.
Other innovations we were working on is DIY heat pump, converted from a regular AC, a water recirculating system called ShowerLoop and a cheap incinerating toilet.
As our project is about something that did not exist before, at least in Ukraine, we were using experimental methodology based on prototyping and iterative testing. Our goal was not just autonomous house in a climate zone with well-defined winter, but also to build a model where such houses will be affordable and relatively easy to build. There are no solutions for this. We are inspired by Elon Musk’s approach on building Starship rockets - rapid prototyping and collecting as much data as possible even from explosions, which some people may consider failures, but for Elon’t team it is DATA. Just like for us. We did not expect the house to become fully autonomous right away. We just launched it as a liveable place at the end of 2023 and started collecting data. And gradually improving, fixing, of course. First winter was especially interesting - we were testing energy efficiency of house’s envelope, air leaks, recuperation performance, DIY heat pump, water quality, solar energy yield, daily and peak energy consumption, passive solar insolation and much more.
In the same time we were curious how the house feels, is it comfortable, what could be improved. Air quality (especially presence of VOCs), acoustic comfort, warm heating surfaces (floor and walls), composting toilet performance. I wish we were in charge of a manufacturing line, where after gathering feedback, we could have just started to build the new V2.0 house, just like Elon. But we are limited in resources and in space, so we were improving what we could, during the whole 2024 as well, and kept shaping our idea and imagining how would have we start building given a new request.
Many don’t believe in our idea. We’ve received tons of comments about feasibility of such project, especially in Ukraine. Critique makes us stronger and shows that we are moving in the right direction. People do care. We consider House 001 as a form of art. It’s a part of history now. But things are just getting started.
In the same time we were curious how the house feels, is it comfortable, what could be improved. Air quality (especially presence of VOCs), acoustic comfort, warm heating surfaces (floor and walls), composting toilet performance. I wish we were in charge of a manufacturing line, where after gathering feedback, we could have just started to build the new V2.0 house, just like Elon. But we are limited in resources and in space, so we were improving what we could, during the whole 2024 as well, and kept shaping our idea and imagining how would have we start building given a new request.
Many don’t believe in our idea. We’ve received tons of comments about feasibility of such project, especially in Ukraine. Critique makes us stronger and shows that we are moving in the right direction. People do care. We consider House 001 as a form of art. It’s a part of history now. But things are just getting started.
We are really hoping that by open-sourcing our project we would engage others to replicate it, also on different scales, from a small house to a multi-tenant house of multiple storeys or an office building. Let’s see in details.
- push for autonomy. We really believe this will transform how we build cities and villages - splitting the built environment to fully self-sustainable groups buildings or groups of buildings;
- using natural and locally sourced materials. This reduces the CO2 footprint significantly and creates more healthy environment inside buildings;
- non-intervention into nature. During the design and building look for solutions allowing nature to remain intact, such as building on pillars, eco pathways and parking lots, elevated pathways, building around trees, avoiding drilling for water etc;
- design for disassembly, modular design, avoiding “wet” processes, mobile homes, prefabrication. It’s awesome to have an opportunity to rebuild a house fully or partially, or move it when its purpose or context changes. Also it’s beneficial for circular economy. It’s increasingly gaining attention in Japan;
- invent, experiment, in order to replace useful but expensive ready made solutions. E.g., heat pumps, water recirculation systems, recuperators, Lithium batteries (can be assembled from cells), wind turbines, incineration toilets, micro hydro systems etc. Without that it’s not possible to build an affordable autonomous home;
- exploited roofs / green roofs is the future, we believe. They add so much function and value to a space that otherwise would just be wasted.
- using blown-in cellulose as insulation. This material has the smallest embodied energy of all other insulation materials. It allows to build a circular economy around its production and recycling. Also its performance should be excellent for any project, except the ones with very high demand for fire protection;
- organising building by volunteers with supervision by pros
- push for autonomy. We really believe this will transform how we build cities and villages - splitting the built environment to fully self-sustainable groups buildings or groups of buildings;
- using natural and locally sourced materials. This reduces the CO2 footprint significantly and creates more healthy environment inside buildings;
- non-intervention into nature. During the design and building look for solutions allowing nature to remain intact, such as building on pillars, eco pathways and parking lots, elevated pathways, building around trees, avoiding drilling for water etc;
- design for disassembly, modular design, avoiding “wet” processes, mobile homes, prefabrication. It’s awesome to have an opportunity to rebuild a house fully or partially, or move it when its purpose or context changes. Also it’s beneficial for circular economy. It’s increasingly gaining attention in Japan;
- invent, experiment, in order to replace useful but expensive ready made solutions. E.g., heat pumps, water recirculation systems, recuperators, Lithium batteries (can be assembled from cells), wind turbines, incineration toilets, micro hydro systems etc. Without that it’s not possible to build an affordable autonomous home;
- exploited roofs / green roofs is the future, we believe. They add so much function and value to a space that otherwise would just be wasted.
- using blown-in cellulose as insulation. This material has the smallest embodied energy of all other insulation materials. It allows to build a circular economy around its production and recycling. Also its performance should be excellent for any project, except the ones with very high demand for fire protection;
- organising building by volunteers with supervision by pros
Climate change is the biggest global challenge. Also there is reliance on fossil fuels to heat homes and generate energy. Let’s look in more details.
- using Net Zero or Net Positive design for the whole lifecycle of a building we can reduce 40% of global CO2 emissions, 70% of global energy consumption, 65% of waste and have better air and water quality;
- not drilling for water, using water from rain, air and mist, water saving and recycling would allow to avoid global water scarcity and contamination;
- using waterless toilets can significantly reduce the need for wastewater treatment and water/soil contamination overall;
- permaculture practices, sustainable land and forest management, land regeneration can restore biodiversity, which is basis for life on Earth
- local food growing could reduce dependance on modern agriculture based on monoculture way, which negatively affects land and biodiversity and is responsible for 70% of global water loss. Also this can reduce hunger;
- prefabrication, modular construction, repurposing existing buildings, using low-carbon and circular materials, Design for Disassembly, local material sourcing and self-build & community-led housing can address the global housing crisis;
- creating local economies around building, renovation and maintenance of sustainable houses, also creating local circular economies around building materials, can reduce poverty, improve mental health, engage skill share and education;
- micro-grids, local long-duration energy storage systems (ESS), wind turbines and solar arrays can address energy shortages and blackouts.
Not all of the above mentioned is demonstrated by the completed first stage of our project. But this list shows all the directions we plan to cover in next stages.
- using Net Zero or Net Positive design for the whole lifecycle of a building we can reduce 40% of global CO2 emissions, 70% of global energy consumption, 65% of waste and have better air and water quality;
- not drilling for water, using water from rain, air and mist, water saving and recycling would allow to avoid global water scarcity and contamination;
- using waterless toilets can significantly reduce the need for wastewater treatment and water/soil contamination overall;
- permaculture practices, sustainable land and forest management, land regeneration can restore biodiversity, which is basis for life on Earth
- local food growing could reduce dependance on modern agriculture based on monoculture way, which negatively affects land and biodiversity and is responsible for 70% of global water loss. Also this can reduce hunger;
- prefabrication, modular construction, repurposing existing buildings, using low-carbon and circular materials, Design for Disassembly, local material sourcing and self-build & community-led housing can address the global housing crisis;
- creating local economies around building, renovation and maintenance of sustainable houses, also creating local circular economies around building materials, can reduce poverty, improve mental health, engage skill share and education;
- micro-grids, local long-duration energy storage systems (ESS), wind turbines and solar arrays can address energy shortages and blackouts.
Not all of the above mentioned is demonstrated by the completed first stage of our project. But this list shows all the directions we plan to cover in next stages.
We are happy to complete the first stage of our project, which is the fully functioning and liveable off-grid house. However, the house has been in quite liveable stage for around a year now and that allowed to get a lot of results, performance tests and observations that we’ve published on a separate page of the website (link is in Mandatory Documents section below). Here let’s focus on more conceptual results.
Before the war our project could have been perceived as too idealistic, perhaps even luxury (as renewables’ cost was significantly higher back then), especially in the Ukrainian context. But now we see how forehanded the project actually is. Starting from shortage of comfortable housing, especially important for IDPs, continuing to electricity blackouts that hit Ukraine in the fall of 2022, then Kakhovka Dam destruction that led to clean water scarcity in a vast region. Waste of destroyed houses is big issue too. House 001 is the concept (and reality) that is protected from all of that.
Re-connecting with nature. We now see a clear win-win for nature and humans in building elevated houses, thus retaining the piece of land of house's footprint size - for the nature. But now we are even more ambitious and plan at least 2 meters of elevation for a next house. House 001 has 1 meter. Thus, more natural light under the house and more convenient for humans. Perhaps the best use of this space is a greenhouse.
DIY building creates totally different vibe. Instead of hiring someone and constantly controlling them, a small group of motivated volunteers can build so much, learn so much and have so much fun together! It feels like growing your own baby. Of course there will be mistakes, but better invest your budget in fixing mistakes rather than in paying unmotivated workers. Building is also a great mental therapy. DIY building of natural autonomous houses is the most exciting way to rebuild better, modern, energy efficient and flourishing Ukraine.
Before the war our project could have been perceived as too idealistic, perhaps even luxury (as renewables’ cost was significantly higher back then), especially in the Ukrainian context. But now we see how forehanded the project actually is. Starting from shortage of comfortable housing, especially important for IDPs, continuing to electricity blackouts that hit Ukraine in the fall of 2022, then Kakhovka Dam destruction that led to clean water scarcity in a vast region. Waste of destroyed houses is big issue too. House 001 is the concept (and reality) that is protected from all of that.
Re-connecting with nature. We now see a clear win-win for nature and humans in building elevated houses, thus retaining the piece of land of house's footprint size - for the nature. But now we are even more ambitious and plan at least 2 meters of elevation for a next house. House 001 has 1 meter. Thus, more natural light under the house and more convenient for humans. Perhaps the best use of this space is a greenhouse.
DIY building creates totally different vibe. Instead of hiring someone and constantly controlling them, a small group of motivated volunteers can build so much, learn so much and have so much fun together! It feels like growing your own baby. Of course there will be mistakes, but better invest your budget in fixing mistakes rather than in paying unmotivated workers. Building is also a great mental therapy. DIY building of natural autonomous houses is the most exciting way to rebuild better, modern, energy efficient and flourishing Ukraine.
