An experiment in high-performance building design and construction
The Ice Box Challenge comprises two small structures. One is built to the Standard Building Code, and the other is built to the super-insulated Passive House Standard. Each Ice Box contains 1 ton of ice. Left outside in the summer sun for one month, the Ice Boxes are then opened, and the amount of ice remaining in each box is measured, indicating how well each Ice Box keeps out the summer heat.
Comfortable & efficient design
High-performance buildings are reliable, affordable, comfortable buildings that keep the indoors in and the outdoors out. They remain comfortable and quiet throughout the year, including during summer heatwaves, winter storms, and power outages. These buildings use up to 90% less energy for heating and cooling than other buildings, while maintaining good indoor ventilation and air quality. They are easy to maintain and affordable to build, own, live in, and work in.
Design for Assembly, Disassembly, and Reuse
The structure will demonstrate how to bring sustainability to the highest level in construction by utilizing circular design, particularly through the design and build concept from Produktif, an innovation and technology company based in Norway. The wooden frame will be designed according to their Design for Assembly and Disassembly methodology (DFAD®) to allow for speedy construction and reuse for multiple life cycles. It will also integrate recycled and upcycled materials such as windows and wooden cladding.
Design Ice
Using two blocks of one ton of ice is not an everyday occurrence, but when it comes to a challenge to demonstrate the need for consuming less energy, the exercise is not so simple. Fortunately, in northern countries like Norway, ice is not too far away. The two blocks will come from a lake, thanks to the specialized company DesignIce, thus consuming less energy than freezing blocks.
A multi-skilled team has taken the lead on this new challenge, led by the Belgian architect A2M, Sebastian Moreno-Vacca, who has been investigating ways to improve sustainability after promoting and utilizing the passive house standard from its earliest stages in Belgium. Sebastian met Rune Kongshaug in New York a few years ago, initiating collaboration on innovative design. Rune, the CEO of Produktif, a company focusing for many years on design for assembly and disassembly (DFAD) and energy autonomy, has patented a holistic concept of design and build called Click-Works-Flow® and developed smart connectors to speed up the construction process, allowing for faster assembly, disassembly, and reuse. They will utilize their innovative and patented C-joints in this Ice Box challenge.
Rune suggested illustrating cooperation in design between Belgium and Norway by adding an innovative Norwegian architect to the design team: Margit Klev from Outline Arkitektur, who also promotes new ways of sustainable living as she resides in a house under a greenhouse.
The prefabrication of the boxes will take place at the company Ly Hytta. CEO Bjørn Olav Leer has also been actively involved in the design and will be the builder, serving as an early adopter.
