Affordable and sustainable: prefabricated home wins green award!

29 March 2018 Sustainable construction

Cross laminated timber, glue laminated timber… engineered wood is making it easier than ever to construct houses quickly, efficiently, at low cost, and most importantly, sustainably! And PEFC-certified material is at the heart of this trend.

Importantly, architects that are choosing to work with this fantastic renewable material are being rewarded – getting deserved recognition for choosing to design with a material that helps keep our planet healthy now and in the future.

PEFC-certified timber a key feature for jury

The latest company in the spotlight is German firm SchwörerHaus, which recently won the Green Design category at the Golden Cubes 2018 – the largest award for prefabricated homes in Germany.

SchwörerHaus’ Model Home in Auggen took home the award thanks to its Efficiency House 40 Plus rating. A distinguishing feature in the jury’s decision to award them first prize was the building’s use of PEFC-certified, regional and sustainable building materials.

“SchwörerHaus’ Model Home helps to change the misconception that environmentally friendly and healthy homes are expensive to build and that normal people cannot afford them,” said Hannah Kuhfeld, Marketing and Customer Management, PEFC Germany.

“At SchwörerHaus, the use of wood from sustainably managed forests is not just an empty phrase, but is verified by the company's PEFC certification."

Sponsored by PEFC Germany, the Green Design category awarded homes that are particularly environmentally friendly and healthy for living. This could be achieved with sustainable and emission-free building materials; having the lowest possible energy consumption; or use of certified building materials, to name a few.

Do you design with timber?

Do you use solid wood or take advantage of engineered wood such as CLT or glulam in your construction projects? Then this is your chance to be recognized for your commitment to building with wood by the World Architecture Festival (WAF)!

The Best Use of Certified Timber Prize, supported by PEFC, will reward project teams and architects that have used certified timber in an innovative, educational or artistic manner, whilst demonstrating responsible sourcing in a completed building.

Please note that the deadline for entry is 11 May 2018. Find out more!

Designing the future with sustainable timber

Across the world, the architecture community is embracing solid and engineered wood to deliver high profile, award winning projects and everyday designs - from houses, schools and hotels to restaurants, theatres, supermarkets and swimming pools.

Under the theme Designing the Future with Sustainable Timber, a range of stakeholders have come together under the leadership of PEFC to promote the use of wood in construction in general and certified wood in particular.

Join us! Contact us at fabienne.sinclair@pefc.org.