The construction of a house represents the realisation of a dream: that of being able to live, according to one's style, in the spaces necessary to welcome and protect us, a space to return to after days of work.
The home satisfies man's first need: that of security.
Building a wooden house ultimately fulfils this need.
Wood is a material that simultaneously represents tradition and innovation.
Traditionally, wood has been used for centuries in the construction of mountain huts, testifying to how strong this material is even when exposed to the elements.
Wood is now used in the laminated version, further enhancing its natural characteristics.
Lamellar or not, wood has a long tradition inside and outside buildings: an example is a house built in 1287 in Schwyz, Switzerland, which was inhabited until the 1980s and is now a museum.
Wood is also modern!
In today's constructions, it forms the structure of buildings, on a par with reinforced concrete, guaranteeing better performance from a structural point of view: in fact, it is resistant, light and has excellent seismic energy dissipation capabilities, which is why wooden houses are naturally earthquake-proof!
Wood has excellent insulating properties: for the same energy performance, walls made of wood are much thinner and allow for the design of simplified air-conditioning systems that require very little energy, reducing operating and maintenance costs.
There are different technologies and construction attitudes in the world of manufacturers. Among these, Novellocase has been working for years with combined and unique construction techniques that allow the manufacture of wooden buildings with very high performance even in extreme conditions. You can visit a wood house built in Chamois (AO), located at an altitude of 1800 metres, without a heating system. The construction technology used here is timber frame construction, insulated with rice straw bales.
The particular case of this house is mentioned because the costs of maintaining heating/cooling systems in buildings are almost always overlooked. In this specific case, the simple fact that the building efficiently conserves all available thermal energy not only allows the owner to make considerable savings but, above all, provides a comfortable environment every time they enter this second home used for a peaceful and quiet weekend.
Further reasoning on costs begins when the decision is made to design a prefabricated house, making it possible to know the precise amount that will have to be invested, even before it is built, giving further certainty to those who have to build it.
In addition, construction times are significantly reduced, compared to traditional constructions, saving additional money.
A further advantage is financial, as the value of timber houses will be maintained over time, as they are the current and future way to construct efficient buildings.
Wood is modern because it responds perfectly to our awareness of respecting the environment, putting less CO2 into the environment and consuming less.
Its insulating capabilities also translate into excellent sound insulation performance.
Houses made of this fantastic material allow exceptionally comfortable living: acoustics and thermal insulation provide natural well-being for their inhabitants.
Well-being also translates into indoor air quality to protect the fundamental good: health.
NOVELLOCASE is a manufacturer of prefabricated wooden houses that are prefabricated at its site in Oggiona (VA).
This is where the raw materials arrive, and buildings of any size are constructed using frame and x-lam technology. Unlike many manufacturers on the market, Novellocase works exclusively on architect's projects, prefabricating the structures and assembling them on site. In other words, prefabrication does not mean producing catalogue houses; on the contrary, it means engineering and prefabricating every single architectural project presented by the architect and designer. This makes Novellocase a company particularly attentive to the needs of designers. It is no coincidence that all 3d Bim models of the various types of walls and roofs can be downloaded free of charge from the site syncronia.com.
The production site in Oggiona Santo Stefano (VA), with its 17,000 square metres of floor space, represents the largest industrial building made entirely of wood in Europe.
The design of this building, totally inspired by green building concepts, starts with the choice of frame technology to not waste the wood resource and to select recycled cellulose as the wall insulation.
The result is the energy performance of this "wooden giant" with neither winter nor summer air conditioning.
In addition, there is a one-megawatt photovoltaic roof, which, together with the careful design of the lighting system, contributes to the result of an absolute value for the financial contribution provided by the system.
These principles result in Novello Case's desire to research solutions using natural materials to construct efficient buildings that respect the well-being of the people who will inhabit them.