In 2022, Sandro Pitassi, then President of VVBSP, launched a working group to offer families and members alternative housing options to the stagnant and corrupt property market, focusing on sustainability, ecology, affordability and independence in anticipation of future post-COVID crises.

From this, driven by an ever-growing demand from people concerned with the issue of living well in conjunction with sustainability and ecology (the real ones, not those based on Europe’s fictitious economic accounts), and following a conversation with Graziano Naressi, owner of ‘Il Portale Dei Saperi e Del Saper Fare’, an idea was born for modular homes designed and built using hemp-composite bricks that offer very low thermal conductivity of around 0.08 W/mK; 30 to 40% cheaper than traditional ones, these houses are sustainable, off-grid and potentially 100% passive, making use of the site’s geomorphology and natural ventilation, as well as high-efficiency forms of alternative energy.

They are called COB-Houses, where ‘COB’ refers to an ancient construction method involving the use of clay, sand, hemp or straw mixed together with water.

 

The aim of this project is to provide people with a property that is practically off-grid, healthy, and will last at least eighty years, because building a house must be an investment that yields the greatest possible return in financial and practical terms. It’s no joke: if you think about it, at least two and a half generations should be able to live comfortably in these houses without needing to do much work on them, because from a technological and construction point of view, they are designed from the outset to perform their function effectively.

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Three different configurations are available, named CL – GL – GTI (in honour of the 1980s Volkswagen Golf), starting from a price of between €270,000 and €280,000 (for the turnkey building structure only, excluding land, sewerage connection, external works, public charges, taxes, etc., which are the client’s responsibility).

 

The unit consists of four or more 6 x 6 metre modules with a wooden frame, expandable by 1.5 x 1.5 metres.

The infill walls are made of 40x30x20 cm hemp bricks* (*please note: the dimensions of the hemp bricks vary depending on the climate zone in which the house will be located, in order to optimise performance.)

The floor plan, featuring the 4 basic modules, is inspired by ancient Roman houses with an internal courtyard (which allows light and air to pass through) and a regular layout, covering a total area of 165 square metres, ideal for a family of four.

Connecting corridors with windows promote ventilation and optimise internal lighting, creating a patio that separates the daytime area from the night-time area. The planting of shrubs and low-growing trees in the gaps between the modules helps filter the outside air when the windows are open.

The full-height windows provide uniform, diffused lighting, enhancing the sense of space and visual contact with the natural outdoor environment.

The generous dimensions of the rooms offer a level of liveability that is unthinkable when compared to today’s standard buildings. Indeed, the choice to use modules rather than a single three-dimensional element allows for open-plan solutions with ample space and no additional partitions. 

 

The structure has been designed with double-laminated timber beams, with the solar chimney system at the centre, featuring a steel ring at both the base and the apex that secures the roof’s load-bearing beams, creating a single, solid yet flexible unit in accordance with current anti-seismic regulations. 

 

Why use hemp bricks? Well, because it is a natural material that is healthier, fire-resistant, insect-repellent, as durable as standard masonry and offers the best technical performance available; furthermore, it is easy to apply, 100% recyclable and can be reused practically indefinitely. In fact, all the waste material resulting from the installation of electrical or plumbing systems, for example, can easily be re-mixed and used in other applications.

 

Solar panels and photovoltaic systems, mini wind turbines, rainwater harvesting tanks, external heat accumulators or sand or water thermal storage systems, a pyrolysis stove or, alternatively, a heat pump in conjunction with Canadian wells, and infrared heating complete the technical specifications of the house and must be calculated for each project to ensure standard and optimal performance and durability.

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The internal height of the modules, at 2.55 metres, makes them more compact and helps them retain heat more effectively; the roof, in addition to providing excellent insulation, acts as a solar chimney in summer; Convective movements are created by the Canadian wells, situated in the cooler northern part of the plot where the building stands, which draw in and circulate the warm air inside the house, ensuring a constant temperature between 20° and 24° Celsius. 

 

What varies are the finishes, such as windows, internal and external doors, flooring, external cladding, energy supply technologies, heating and cooling systems, etc., depending on requirements. 

 

Therefore, every home will be different from the others, because it tells a story and bears witness to a family’s life, reflecting their identity; spaces that are pleasing to the eye, intimate, balanced and bright, aim to recreate that feeling of being at home that was characteristic of the architecture of the golden age of the 20th century.