News from Italy

THE SIMONICINI COUPLE’S CHOICE: AN “ECO” HOUSE MADE ENTIRELY OF WOOD.
The Simonicini couple decided to build a prefabricated wooden house in the village of Orciatico (in the municipality of Lajatico); the house, which is currently under construction, is being built with ecological materials and in accordance with the principles for energy efficient buildings.
Prefabricated wooden houses provide modern building solutions and offer numerous advantages and benefits, compared to traditional houses. That is why timber buildings are becoming increasingly popular in Italy. In the area of ​​Tuscany, interest in this type of construction is increasing; this fact is further confirmed by the decision of Marco Simoncini’s family to build an environmentally friendly house in Orciatico.
The Simoncini couple explained that their decision to build this type of house was actually made several years ago. They said: “After thoroughly studying the construction of prefabricated houses by reading books, searching on the Internet and visiting specialized trade fairs in Italy, we also went to see a few of them. Some of the houses were already finished while others were still under construction. During all our visits, we managed to get valuable information, both from the owners and from the construction companies.”
They emphasized that they were immediately drawn to the advantages of prefabricated wooden houses, especially their good insulation, which ensures low energy consumption and minimum energy loss, and added that: “It is necessary to eliminate prejudices related to the strength and reliability of the wooden houses, which largely stem from a lack of information about this type of construction.” Prefabricated buildings are high-quality buildings that can be constructed quickly and the costs are known in advance. Such a construction system also provides good sound insulation and earthquake resistance, which is becoming an increasingly important design feature. There is also a great advantage in the fact that such buildings require very few maintenance interventions.
The architect Fiorentini and the building surveyor Lacorossi took part in designing the wooden house in Orciatico. The spatial placement of the house and the placement of window openings were decided with respectful adherence to the principles of bioclimatic design. The project designers also wanted to achieve a correctly executed façade cladding that will perform its function throughout the whole year and will provide a high level of living comfort both in summer and in winter. The new house with a spacious living room will be equipped with a 2 kWp solar energy system and underfloor heating – and solar panels will be used to collect energy from the sun to heat the sanitary water. We should also emphasise that, since wood walls provide high levels of energy efficiency, energy consumption will be reduced to the lowest possible level all year round.
The house will also have a Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery System (MVHR), which will further improve the quality of life in the house and the overall energy efficiency of the house. So, it is no surprise that the house is classified as A, the highest energy class. The house is also protected against electromagnetic radiation.
The couple entrusted the construction of their wooden house to Arcadia Biocase, a company (based in the Italian region of Piedmont) that engages in the construction of “green” modular buildings. They owners of the new house said: “It took quite a long time for us to decide which construction company we should select to construct our house. Deciding which experts should help us design the house, how the rooms should be set up and which method of construction we should opt for were decisions that required quite a lot of effort and engagement.”