Small and simple living
The bigger the home, the more resources it consumes
Yes, your home is your castle. But it is also responsible for a big chunk of your material and carbon footprints. The production, transportation and installation of all the materials in your home have already used a lot of energy and created emissions, and the operating and maintaining — lighting, heating, cooling and waste management — constantly create more. The simple truth is that the bigger the home, the more resources it consumes.
Could we settle for less space? Could tiny homes be part of the solution?
‘House Shadow’ is Professor Matti Kuittinen’s proof of concept for the potential of industrial circular economy in construction. It exemplifies simple and small homes as an alternative to traditional detached homes, which make up 64% of housing in the EU.
53% of the weight of this tiny home is made up of reused products or recycled materials, with the remaining materials representing the lowest possible carbon sources.
When compared to detached homes, tiny house Shadow requires 85% less materials and 43% less land per capita.
Tiny house SHADOW
Structure and cladding
Material: first building in Finland to utilize fossil free steel by SSAB, Lundell and Vesivek
Recycling rate: 100%
Bathroom walls, floor and sink
Material: recycled plastic and industrial side streams by Durat
Recycling rate > 50%
Living room flooring
Material: textile carpet made from old fishing nets by Forbo
Recycling rate 75%
Reused timber façade
Material: wood
Reuse rate 100%
Reused windows and doors
Material: glass, wood, aluminium, PVC
Reuse rate 100%
Roofing
Material: Bitumen made from recycled tyres, recycled polyester and tall oil by Kerabit
Recycling rate > 25%
Construction boards
Material: wood, particle boards made from recycled saw dust by Koskisen
Recycling rate > 90%
Floor insulation
Material: recycled EPS plastic by Bewi
Recycling rate: 100%
Thermal insulation
Material: recycled glass wool by Isover
Recycling rate: > 70%
Architecture: Matti Kuittinen / Aalto University
Structural design and prefabrication: Aulis Lundell Ltd.
