In august a consortium of Danish construction companies ship 3 containers filled with great export expectations to China. The Containers and their content will serve as the main ingredients for a new type of low energy house, which will be build in Wuxi, China, a municipality east of Shanghai with 6.4 million inhabitants. The ambition for the house is to raise enough interest to legitimize a housing production in China.

Learn more about low energy buildings on www.stateofgreen.com

“We have been supplied with two showcase venues for five years, and there is a huge interest in a ‘danish city part” on 45 km2, Jan Sørensen, CEO of Worldflexhome, the consortium behind the project, tells Ingeniøren.

A deal with the city council has been made with valuable assistance from the Danish Embassy in China, Danish-Chinese Business Forum, Danish Export Association and the network of Danish Technological Institute in China. Representants from the city council and a Chinese developer visited Denmark this spring to get a closer look on the products and ideas of the Danish companies.

The house is designed and planned in corporation between architects from Arcgency and ingenuers from Esbensen. Previously Arcgency designed the Danish COP15 pavilion out of containers, and they have generally worked with a focus on recycling and minimized waste in the building process.

Integrated solar cells

The house is going to live up to the Danish 2020 goals and will be provided with heat and energy from integrated solar cells. Smart ventilation systems and top quality building materials guarantees a top class indoor climate. The building blueprint will be adjustable to one family houses, city dwellings and townhouses not to mention storey dwellings, architect and partner Mads Møller from Arcgency tells Ingeniøren.

Interested in solar energy? Read more on www.stateofgreen.com

Chinese pilot project on a growing market

The new part of the city in Wuxi is centred around a new station on the high speed connection between Shanghai and Nanjing. Estimated 800.000 – 1 million Chinese will move into the new city in the coming years, and it will become a pilot project for sustainable city parts that can be a source of inspiration for other Chinese cities.

The upper middle class is growing rapidly in China in these years, and it will be the target group for the dwellings. Growth combined with migration to the cities demands an estimate of 12 million new houses this year and about 35 million in 2015.

Interest from Africa

A handful of African Countries have also shown interest in the concept. Since the continent imports more than it exports Africa is the graveyard of western containers, Jan Sørensen tells Ingeniøren.

Source: Ingeniøren

Photo Source: worldFLEXhome