Climate change and the resulting demands played a central role at the beginning of the project. It's not only about the fixation of a label, but also about the careful use of resources as well as summer and winter heat protection. The parcel is located in a residential zone with a special living quality. For this reason, it was decided to use photovoltaic elements on the facade, which are used to generate energy and regulate the microclimate. – a solution that is both ecologically and visually profitable.
Especially in Graubünden, facade systems are predestined, since there are longer winters here and the position of the sun is low in this season. This is one reason why the canton of Graubünden participates with subsidies for PV systems on facades. The rational wooden construction reduces the construction energy and material consumption - an ecological necessity becomes a haptically tangible expression! Photovoltaic elements from the company Eternit are used on the west and south facades. The product decision was made at the beginning, because the architecture had to react to the module mass. For the other two facades, photovoltaics was not the first choice because the efficiency on the east and north facades is too low in terms of energy and economy.
Here, vertical greenery adorns the sides facing away from the sun. In addition to the air and climate improvements, the greenery helps regulate the temperature inside the structure and provides shelter and habitat for butterflies and other small creatures. Additionally, the greened areas are a thematic bridge to the nursery and its inhabitants. Samuel Urech, managing director of the Urech nursery, and his family are involved in the construction of the apartment building in the immediate vicinity of the nursery. Both client and architect were in favor of creating an energy-efficient building. The construction as a hybrid allows an efficient building method that meets the requirements of architecture, structural safety and building physics.
