House – Annecy
Pilot house in France, near Annecy, on a farm wishing to offer a didactic experience to people with a special interest in aromatic and medicinal plants that are an integral part of the Haute-Savoie region’s biodiversity.
Concept
concept
« The technology developed by UHCS for construction stands comparison with Swatch technology for watchmaking in the early 1980s: a revolution in simplicity »
Dr. Ernst Thomke (Swatch)
Design
“UHCS” is the invention and development of a design reduced to three principal profile sections that can be assembled, together creating structural cohesion in six directions and resulting from the best possible ratio between ease of manufacture for large-scale and economical industrial production, construction to comply with the most exacting SIA and ISO standards, together with modular simplicity for implementation at the service of architecture which comes truly into its own.
Materials
Possibility of a non-exhaustive selection of several other plastic polymers, either homogenous and/or reinforced with fibres, which can also serve the UHCS design.
The generic choice of favoring PET has been made because of its appropriate mechanical properties, non-toxicity and availability all over the world.
This choice certainly does not rule out the occasional use of other polymers that are better suited to the prevailing climatic features, more readily available or because of opportunities provided by regional circumstances.
But UHCS does impose two rules:
- The reutilisation and upcycling of plastic waste
- The separation of plastic polymers during the manufacturing of the UHCS profiles in order to allow for subsequent recycling
Intellectual property
“UHCS” is the outcome of a long process. Four years, five successive design concepts and four successive PCT/patents were needed, bringing together claims acknowledged as an invention until the definitive “UHCS” design was finalized and put into effect, uniting the finest ratio of simplicity and effectiveness at every phase of implementation of the construction system.
This history of transformation has led on to particularly extensive intellectual property protection that represents the sum of all this research into the best possible solution. This is a considerable asset in every way for protection and maintenance of the “UHCS” system’s unique character.
Technical features
Validation of the UHCS design by Igor Ustinov and André Hoffmann for compliance with the most exacting construction standards has been achieved after undergoing all the necessary digital and real test protocols to guarantee highly effective complex finalisation, with a view to optimising production efficiency.
This task was undertaken in the first instance by Almatech SA in Lausanne, and then by the Swiss Laboratories for Materials Science and Research Empa in Dübendorf, until it was finally taken over by IWK Institue in Rapperswil to define the optimal industrial production protocol.
our Projects
Building "Europe"
Building up buildings with UHCS is done in mixed design with traditional materials.
House "Europe"
Example of a house "Europe" of 3,5 rooms with 1 ou 2 floors between 96m2 et 150 m2
Nursery in Africa
Possible evolution of the project in a nursery in Africa.
House "Africa"
Example of agglomeration of several houses with central patio, for houses in Africa
