Health Center Hohenstein

Andreas Steiner points out: “We clearly wanted to test some innovative ideas. The building market for private houses is certainly large, but it is neither boundless nor expandable. At the same time, we anticipate a sharp increase of the demand for fully prefabricated building modules in the near future”.

He explains: “One of the triggers for this fairly recent trend has been the growing popularity of the ‘tiny house’ concept. This is a global pheno­me­non, and Germany is certainly no exception. The idea is to supplement – or even replace – conventional housing with very compact, but well-equipped units, and it is gaining traction surprisingly fast. As an answer, we have developed our highly versatile ‘FlyingSpaces’. They can be used to enlarge or complement an existing house – for example to accom­mo­date a caregiver or a nurse in the case of elderly people. They will work just as well as an easily set up, small yet luxurious and cost-effective holiday house – or even as a permanent home”. In the latter case, the tiny house concept holds considerable appeal for those among us who favour a ‘less is more‘ approach and want to go back to a radically decluttered lifestyle. For many of them, dispensing with a mortgage and similar, long-term obliga­tions usually asso­ciated with conventional home ownership comes as a bonus.

In such cases, the principles of modular construction combine several decisive advantages. According to a study that consulting company McKinsey published in 2019, modular buildings can be completed in up to 50% less time than conventional ones; depending on the project, modularity can also lower the building costs per m². For the FlyingSpaces, SchwörerHaus has been able to tap into the company’s know-how to offer sophisticated solu­tions:  the completely prefabricated wood-frame modules can be extensively tailored to each client’s preferences. They are supplied as self-contained, fully equipped and move-in ready units. Andreas Steiner under­scores: “The modules are also very energy-efficient, thanks to high-end thermal insula­tion that is on par with our regular SchwörerHaus homes: both our FlyingSpaces and our modular houses comply with the German energy efficiency standard ‘KfW Effizienzhaus 55’. This means that, when compared with the bench­mark value, they need only 55% of the primary energy. Similarly, the heat transfer coefficient is only 0.7, versus 1 as defined by the standard”.

Thoroughly modular: the healthcare centre paves the way

Franca Wacker, the company’s in-house architect, was in charge of the PORT Gesundheitszentrum project. She comments: “The modularity of our FlyingSpaces is ideal when it comes to this kind of non-residential building. Essentially, this is a new market segment where our expertise in modular construction is immediately applicable. Accordingly, the potential synergies are highly attractive”.

Modular construction is at the core of the architectural concept: the health­care centre is entirely based on the FlyingSpace design, even if, at the time, some of the modules could not be prefabricated, as the dedicated produc­tion hall at SchwörerHaus was still in the final stages of construction. A centrally located atrium acting as a ‘plaza’ connects the various modules.

Franca Wacker points out: “Each medical office has its own module. Since the centre is designed to be flexible and readily expandable, the modular princi­ple is indeed very practical. We can add office space fast and easily – and the process is remarkably cost-efficient’. Andreas Steiner adds: “As the prefab modules have been designed to be stackable, we can also expand vertically. Three-storey buildings made of FlyingSpaces are technically feasible, and from the start, the healthcare centre was planned as a two-storey structure. The space for the elevator and the staircase is already part of the floor plan.

Trespa^® cladding panels – a natural choice

“I have been familiar with the Trespa^® product range for some time already, as I used Trespa^® panels at an earlier point of my career”, explains Franca Wacker. “Back then, the product had been very convincing – and it still is. The panels are enduring, high-quality and they have been around for quite a while: this is truly a tried-and-tested product. At SchwörerHaus, we use Trespa^® Meteon^® panels regu­larly on our modular houses, mainly to create colour or material contrasts. When compared with more conventional façade materials, the HPL panels manufactured by Trespa come with several signifi­cant advantages – especially in terms of durability, high weather resistance and outstanding colour stability. Easy maintenance is an additional benefit for house owners: hosing down the façade from time to time is all it takes”.

Regarding the PORT Gesundheitszentrum, she explains: “Here, the situation was obviously different. Fibre cement panels could have been an alternative, but the material can be less than easy to deal with on site, and with fully prefabricated modules that include factory-installed cladding, some damage could have occurred on the modules’ way to their final destina­tion. Admittedly, this could not have happened this time, as the cladding was put in place on location due to temporary constraints”. Andreas Steiner com­ments: “Since our dedicated production hall was still under construc­tion, the Trespa^® panels had to be installed on the building site. But this will soon be a thing of the past, as we are aiming at fully integrated prefabrication”.

“For the sub-frame of the façade, we used wood”, adds Franca Wacker. “A local company, Holzbau Moser in Hirschfeld, was put in charge of the faça­des. They cut the Trespa^® Meteon^® panels to size and installed them directly on loca­tion. Wood for the sub-frame was indeed the way to go, and every­thing went smoothly. Therefore, we intend to stick to a wood sub-frame when cladding becomes part of the prefab process”.

Franca Wacker goes into the details of the material selection: “We started with a variety of samples which we had ordered from Trespa. At the same time, we submitted a panel to a ‘destruction test’ that failed convin­cingly – which was exactly what we had hoped for! In addition, I knew from my previous experience that cutting, drilling and, if needed, sanding the edges of Trespa^® Meteon^® panels will yield clean and accurate results. This allows for a precise fit and for even gaps between the panels, something I highly value. All these factors made it easy to bring on board our CEO, Johannes Schwörer. He readily approved our material choice and involved himself in the selection of the two panel colours we wanted to combine. Together, we opted for NA16 Belgian Bluestone – a panel with a finish reminiscent of natural slate­ – as the main colour. We complemented it with contrasting white panels (A05.0.0 Pure White) as a lateral extension on some of the windows”.

Trespa and SchwörerHaus: a collaboration with a bright future

Following the completion of the healthcare centre, the feedback so far has been very positive. As Franca Wacker points out, the company has even received several enquiries from potential new clients. She explains that in general, the concept of the fully modular tiny house has been a recurring topic in the media over the last 2-3 years, thus generating additional, posi­tive exposure for the principle of prefab modules. “Our CEO is keen to further increase our presence in the new market segment to which the PORT Gesundheitszentrum belongs”, she comments.

“In the future, I can see us offering the full range of Trespa^® Meteon^® colours and decors for our FlyingSpaces. Since – as I already pointed out – we currently offer Trespa^® panels as an option for our modular private houses, multifamily homes and non-residential buildings, this would be logical”.

“For the Flyingspaces in all their variants, which will shortly leave the produc­tion hall at SchwörerHaus fully prefabricated and equipped for move-in ready delivery, Trespa^® Meteon^® panels are an ideal cladding solution”. Franca Wacker adds: “We offer a wide range of finish options for the façades. As a standard, the modules come in a render finish, but the optional possibilities are manifold. Basically, the FlyingSpaces share the same options that are available for our modular houses – including wood sidings in several variations, ceramic tiles and even BIPV (Building Integrated Photovoltaics)”.

She summarises: “Trespa is well-positioned among these material options. The diversity of the available colours, decors and finishes is fully in line with our own emphasis on offering bespoke solutions for every taste. In addition, the durability and resistance of the Trespa^® panels contribute to the overall enduring quality of the FlyingSpaces – a key aspect of the SchwörerHaus company philosophy. Therefore, the potential for further expanding our cooperation with Trespa is definitely strong”.