This 'Biological House' Is Built From Eco-Waste That Would Otherwise Be Burned
Grass and other "waste" produced by farming generally gets burned for energy or thrown in a landfill. Now, it's finding new life in a host of materials that could be used to build homes.
May 23 2019, Updated 4:45 p.m. ET
Architecture firm Een Til Een has just opened the first "biological house" in Denmark. What exactly does this mean? This house was built almost entirely from upcycled materials that are generally considered waste produced by the agricultural industry—things like grass, straw, and seaweed. Interestingly, these materials would normally be burned for energy.
World Architecture reports that these materials were instead specially compressed into raw materials to construct the house. Kim Christofte, CEO of Een til Een, stated that experimenting with finding the correct balance of materials was an intense but worthwhile process.
“It’s been a long project, and we have all certainly learnt a great deal over the course of planning and construction. It has been a pleasure to watch the team find so many clever solutions to the problems encountered along the way and we are delighted to finally open the doors to share this unique house with the public.”
One of the most challenging aspects was forgoing the traditional concrete foundation, which is "carbon intensive." Instead, the building sits on screw piles of the far more recyclable material, a technique that creates minimal noise and vibration within the house.
All the materials used have been vetted by the Danish Ministry of the Environment Fund for Ecological Construction, and they're all available on the market. So, though only one family could live in this particular house, anyone could theoretically follow in its footsteps and build a beautiful home made from materials that minimize waste and carbon emissions.
