First tiny house made of biocomposite is located in Emmen
On 20 September, a special demonstration project was completed on the grounds of the Hondsrugcollege in Emmen. Here, students from Drenthe College, Hondsrugcollege and NHL Stenden opened the first tiny house built from 100 percent biocomposite.
Tiny houses have been in the spotlight for some time because they contribute to less CO2 emissions. They are small and require less building material than an ordinary house. They still often consist of traditional building materials such as stone, concrete and steel; materials that make a negative contribution to combating climate change and global CO2 emissions. Stone, concrete and steel cost a lot of energy to produce and the use of wood – with the current growth of the world population – contributes to the further deforestation of the earth. In short, the idea of tiny houses is good, but alternative building materials must be sought. The tiny house that has now been built in Emmen is, according to the parties involved, a wonderful example of this.
The project must now demonstrate that biocomposites are not only suitable for insulation materials, covering profiles and plates. But also that biocomposites are able to enable load-bearing panels and frame and skeleton constructions that meet Dutch and German building and safety standards. In the coming period, the tiny house will be extensively tested by lecturers and students of NHL Stenden in Emmen for technical lifespan and weather resistance.
Based on the collaboration between knowledge institutions NHL Stenden Hogeschool, Drenthe College, hondsrugcollege, the German Fiber Institute Bremen and the companies Kuipers & Koersbouw/Bioframe, Millvision, KIEM, Hempflax, FIBY, Domesta and the German Naftex, the past two years have been working on the development of new techniques to improve the tiny house in Emmen to build from bio-based materials. Among other things, the wall panels, roofing and window frames have been specially developed for this purpose in this project.
The project was carried out within the No PAC initiative and was realised within the framework of the now completed German-Dutch INTERREG V A project ‘Bioeconomy in the non-food sector’. The project was supported with funds from the European Union, the state of Lower Saxony, seven Dutch provinces and the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate. Source: NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences.
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