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The first Active House in Russia

Inspired by traditional wooden houses and equipped with modern conveniences, the First Active House in Russia shows how distinctive architecture can create an environment-friendly, healthy and beautiful home.

 

 Tradition meets technology

A wooden house just outside Moscow is the first Active House in Russia. With its sturdy, yet warm and inviting, design, the two-storey building draws on inspiration from traditional Russian architecture as well as state-of-the-art technology. 

The result is a comfortable and spacious family home with an environment-friendly construction. Completed in 2011, the First Active House in Russia is a collaboration between the VELUX Group, construction company NLK and a range of experienced suppliers.

Russian architect company Polygon Lab designed the house, and architect Alexander Leonov drew on inspiration from local building traditions while taking into account the needs of a modern home:

We were inspired by smaller wooden houses, dachas. Our house has a traditional wooden roof, a big chimney and extended elements. The chimney is not just for letting out smoke; it also contains pipes and other installations,"

Leonov explains.

Thanks to the extensive use of wood (durable thermal wood), the house has minimal environmental impact throughout its life cycle.

Inside, the house is bright and full of light. The ground floor features large communal areas that include a kitchen, living room, play area and office space. The rooms’ size and flexibility allow for many different activities, while the open layout makes it easy for parents to keep an eye on their children.

The private living spaces – a master bedroom, bathrooms and two smaller bedrooms – are on the second floor. Numerous wall- and roof windows flood the space with daylight and create a sense of connection to the countryside and community beyond the walls of the home, a feature greatly valued by the house's first residents − Asja, Korney and their children: 

I get a feeling of enormous calm and happiness watching the surrounding countryside, as if I am outside − but without the cold in winter and the heat and mosquitos in summer,"

says Asja.

The Russian climate is known for its extreme temperatures, which can range from +35°C in summer to 35°C in winter. Russia’s First Active House has proved it can cope with even the harshest Russian winter. It stayed warm during its first New Year’s Eve, even as the outdoor temperature plummeted to -30°C. 

Integrated Solar Collectors contributed to the heating, while the facade’s multiple layers of wood minimised thermal bridges, and heavy plaster in the interior walls created thermal mass in the building. During the warm season, automatic sunscreening on roof and facade windows keeps the home and its residents comfortably cool.


Photos: Torben Eskerod

Architect: Polygon Lab


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