Committed to sustainability

Customised, energy-efficient, healthy and affordable housing – does that even exist? A house in the Slovenian town of Kamnik has been built based on precisely these criteria, making it an example of best practice for the e4 concept – a complete housing solution from Wienerberger.

e4 house Kamnik in Slovenia — © Wienerberger Opekarna Ormož

How sustainable does a house need to be?

How sustainable does a house need to be? This was the question that Slovenian architect Nande Korpnik asked himself when designing this detached family home in Kamnik, Slovenia. He based his approach on the e4 brick house concept, with its four cornerstones of energy, economy, environment and emotion. It is important to note that e4 houses are not standardised houses produced using a system, but offer planners maximum scope for creativity. Built from natural materials, these environmentally friendly buildings, which also support good health, are intended to enhance the quality of life of their inhabitants and are designed to be quick and easy to construct.

Comfort and wellbeing in a zero energy house

Fundamentally, e4 houses are all about the comfort and wellbeing of their inhabitants: Low energy consumption means low running costs; natural materials create a comfortable environment; and sustainably manufactured products help conserve nature and the environment. At the same time, these houses can – to a large extent – be tailored to meet the specific needs of the inhabitants. The same ceramic roof tiles were chosen for both the roof and the ventilated parts of the façade on the e4 house in Kamnik. This visually defines part of the house, marking it out from the rest of the building, while the ventilation also provides additional insulation for the interior and allows the house to retain heat from sunlight. Architect Nande Korpnik loves traditional brick construction materials. ‘The e4 house is built from traditional clay bricks and employs all the latest and most environmentally friendly technical advances’.

„In designing the building, there was a special focus on finding waste management solutions, and on the choice of materials, installations and other devices that would make the homes easy to use and ensure they last a long time.“ - Nande Korpnik

Zero-energy and lifespan

One of the aims of this project was to minimise energy consumption and, therefore, running and heating costs. It also sought to keep the home’s primary energy needs and CO₂ emissions as low as possible.

Thanks to their high heat storage capacity and good insulation properties, clay building materials help reduce overall energy consumption and CO₂ emissions. The building, which comprises two homes, meets ambitious performance criteria in accordance with the current EU Buildings Directive and is therefore virtually a zero-energy building. The basic idea of the e4 house is built on saving energy in every area from usage to disposal and decommissioning. According to Korpnik, clay as a building material ticked all the boxes. ‘In designing the building, there was a special focus on finding waste management solutions, and on the choice of materials, installations and other devices that would make the homes easy to use and ensure they last a long time’.