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Not so long ago, we featured Cyril-Emmanuel Issanchou’s Maison Eco-rce, a timber residence, and today, we share his EC*-Cocoon, a low energy house. Designed for the competition BETWIN, the low energy houses are prefabricated modules that are installed upon a set of walls and plinths made from locally gathered stones.
More about the design after the break.
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The “cocoons” are constructed with timber beams in a double geodesic manner, creating a rigid long-span structure. This form minimizes the exterior surface area and, thus, the heat loss. The design incorporates several eco-friendly features such as solar panels to warm water and provide heating, off-site wind turbines for electricity, and a heat exchanger on the rooftop which freshens air quality. The roof allows light to illuminate the center of the home and allows summer ventilation.
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The skin of the home wraps all the equipment that is energetically self-sufficient at ground floor level. The “thermic curtain” on the exterior is a type of space blanket that keeps the heat in winter nights and protects the house from the sunlight in the summer afternoons.
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To define the home’s sense of place, the lower level’s wall of stones helps create “the relation between the house and the street and the pedestrian.”