Mini CO2 house

The Mini CO2 house serves as a model of how the construction industry can reduce its carbon emissions. Following designs by Jaja Architects in Copenhagen, Blumer Lehmann is creating the sustainable residential building using timber and renewable raw materials.

The ribbed ceilings in the Mini CO2 building, for example, feature exposed timber beams and biobased insulation. These were developed specifically for this building and first had to pass full-scale fire testing at the Danish Institute of Fire and Security Technology (DBI).

The five-storey residential building – a frame construction using prefabricated timber units – houses 4 four-room apartments, each with 95 m² of living space. A photovoltaic system on the roof supplies the apartment building with power. Remarkably, this model example of sustainable building uses timber for a full 20% of its interior surfaces – representing the upper level by Danish standards. Laminated timber, cross-laminated timber and other timber materials made with spruce/fir were used for the construction, with oak used for the stairway structure.

Alongside other buildings, the client Realdania By&Byg is creating the Mini CO2 building in the Kanalbyen district in Fredericia to point the way to more sustainable and efficient building methods. The design of the Mini CO2 building can be directly compared with the solid, steel and lightweight constructions of its neighbouring townhouses. In addition, transparent and comprehensive life-cycle assessments are being carried out and the timber building materials evaluated according to quality parameters including construction, architecture, indoor climate, flexibility, fire, building physics, availability of resources and build time.