The project aims to build sustainable portable classrooms at a cost and time frame equivalent to traditional portable classrooms whilst also to aim for the International Passivehouse standard and using timber as the primary construction material.
The result is a prototype for a new Sustainable Environmental Education (SEED) space as the antidote to traditional demountable.
The German International School Sydney required an interim solution involving portable classrooms, providing an opportunity to test the theory.
Each mass timber classroom was preassembled off-site in 5 modules and craned into place within less than 90 minutes per building.
Designed and constructed to the international Passivhouse standard, the classrooms allow for filtered, clean air and thermal comfort year-round, reducing heating and cooling demands by 90%. The use of timber counteracts humidity levels to reabsorb humidity during wet weather and release in dry weather, naturally helping to create a balanced indoor comfort.
The use of timber internally and externally connects the buildings to the surrounding bushland setting, providing a calm natural interior that supports a positive learning environment for the students.
Presenters are Knut Menden, principal at betti & knut Architects, the architect behind the idea and Andrea Luzzi, CEO at Racio Pacific, the fabricator and installer of the mass timber modules.
Knut Menden, Principal at betti & knut Architects
Knut draws on more than 15 years of experience as an architect and designer in sustainable architecture. With a European background and deep knowledge of sustainability and energy-efficient buildings, which comes from his experiences in different climate zones from Germany, Austria, New Zealand and Australia. A major focus of Knut’s work is pre-fabricated mass timber structures and utilising Passivhaus design principles, seen in the high-end residential designs and complex commercial and education projects he has been involved in.
Andreas Luzzi, Chief Executive Officer at RAICO Pacific
Andreas has held positions as an industrial engineer, applied research scientist, consultant, university professor, and managing director in Europe, the USA and Australia. He was also the director of the Swiss National Institute for Solar Technologies and the Regional Certification Body for Low-E Buildings. In 2011 Andreas co-established LAROS Technologies to implement truly-sustainable energy-positive buildings in Australia. In 2019 he joined Raico Pacific to continue his interest in mass timber.