Stylish in steel

Hildesheim architect Thorsten Rebbereh was in the middle of constructing a logistics hall when his daughter called him. She wanted to build her own home, but it was simply too expensive. Something clicked for Rebbereh. Why can't houses be made from steel too? From the greenest steel possible? The idea became a vision, and that vision gave rise to a partnership with Peiner Träger GmbH, part of the Salzgitter steel group. The company is working towards the decarbonisation of the construction industry and uses energy-efficient electric arc furnaces to manufacture CO2-reduced steel from scrap. And so the name of the project was something of a no-brainer: the Green Steel Home was built in a new development area in Weyhausen, near Wolfsburg, Germany. Development and construction time: two-and-a-half months.

One of the features that makes this form of construction so quick and therefore significantly cheaper in terms of labour is the simple lightweight design with a self-supporting steel frame. A prefabricated steel skeleton is mounted on a poured concrete base plate with millimetre precision. There are no load-bearing internal walls, and beams, floors and ceilings are simply screwed on, meaning that it is even possible to reverse them. In the standard configuration, the house offers a large living room with mezzanine and open staircase, providing around 150 m2 of floor space. Otherwise a maximum of 200 m2 of usable space can be achieved across eight rooms. The purpose of the show home, however, was to showcase the possibilities – not just in terms of construction and space, but also with respect to design and style. So in this house, the steel staircase with oak handrails that perfectly match the window frames spans an open cooking, dining and living area. The home also boasts solid wood floors, eco-friendly finishes and upscale fixtures and fittings.

The idea of steel housing is not entirely new, but the degree to which everything has been thought out at the Green Steel Home is almost certainly unique. The potential vulnerability to corrosion is countered by the consistent elimination of heat bridges. For example, the steel pergola, carport and porch are decoupled from the house, and the interior rooms are free from nooks and niches. Heating is provided by an electric infrared heater, powered by the solar panels on the roof. The lush greenery of the mezzanine, which ensures a healthy microclimate, is also irrigated automatically and supplied with electric UV light where necessary. All of the building technology can be intelligently managed thanks to a Gira KNX system, which is centrally controlled via a Gira X1 server. The Gira G1 (2nd generation), and the Gira pushbutton sensor 4.55 are used as operating elements. The system is supplemented by switches and socket outlets from the Gira E2 design line in black matt. A Gira door station from the Gira TX_44 design line rounds off the functionality and design of this holistic concept. The building technology was programmed by ASKOM SmartSolution GmbH specifically for this project and was individually tailored to the requirements and architecture of the building. And that's not all: the carbon footprint of the basic structure is less than four tonnes, which is lower than for comparable conventional houses or wooden buildings – not just comfortable, but also good for the environment.