“Triple Zero” by Werner Sobek. Sustainable building

Build with zero impact. The German architect Werner Sobek talked to Klimahouse, focusing its assistance on the concept of “Aktivhaus” (or active house) and on the need to “smart building”. Internationally renowned architect and engineer, owner of studio Werner Sobek in Stuttgart, he is the founder of the Triple Zero principle which means “zero consumption, zero emissions and zero waste”. His approach to architecture passes through technology innovation, energy efficiency and the use of recyclable and recycled materials.

Casa prefabbricata, Werner Sobek

Trumpf Gate House

“Our homes don’t need energy produced from fossil fuels, they must not produce harmful emissions and they need a technical loop to be reintroduced for all materials. The building sector accounts for 60% of the consumption of resources and the 50% of production of trash”.

Pioneer of a sustainable approach, he has received international awards and recognitions. He designed energy self-sufficient houses (zero energy consumed) and developed intelligent fabrics that could be applied in exterior.

Hotel Nagold, Werner Sobek

To the question “what does sustainability mean for you?”, he answers by quoting the ecological principle of Hans Jonas philosopher “work so that the effects of your actions are compatible with the permanence of genuine human life on Earth”. Sustainable building means “suit current needs and convey the idea of designing a liveable and healthy environment”.

The House where Sobek lives with his family is the architecture manifesto of “Triple Zero” priciple. “R128” is an example of his philosophy and it combines two important principles, the idea of lightness and sustainability.

Werner Sobek, R128

Located in Stuttgart, the home is a four-storey building, completely recyclable, which produces no emissions and is self-sufficient in terms of heating energy requirement. The exterior, steel made, is coated with glass panels, and the house has solar panels that produce electricity needed. All elements are designed according to a modular system and they were assembled in order to use a jointing method that allows it to be quickly assembled and disassembled and recycled. No conduit or cable was embedded in the walls, but they were hidden in the structure of the floor and ceiling. Finally, a control system resets emissions. For Werner Sobek, comfort means lightness and transparency.

Sobek founded with other architects and engineers the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB), which has got about 800 members in two years, and which is developing a system of certification of sustainable buildings that will be completely new, flexible and adaptable in various countries.