France’s first low-cost 'flat pack' wooden house under construction
The eco-friendly home can be assembled in less than two weeks and is put together piece by piece, much like historical timber-frame homes in Alsace
The home comes in different sizes and costs €1,000 per square metre
Baticos / Facebook
France’s first foldable house is under construction and will take less than two weeks to complete from start to finish.
The 75m2 home is made of acacia wood from a sustainable forest in Austria. The construction process is so fast as different sections of the home come pre-made, with the roof attached.
The home is built by piecing sections of the construction together, a process that has parallels with the the timber frame homes historically built in Alsace.
Valery Meyer, owner of the home which is being constructed in Blotzheim, near Mulhouse, Haut-Rhin, told FranceInfo: “It’s basically the same principle as for timber-frame homes, where you can take off the rendering and reuse the frame to put the building up elsewhere.”
Homes are environmental and cost-effective
Ms Meyer said the home’s eco-friendly credentials encouraged her to buy it. As well as being made of sustainable materials, the structure is anchored by large stakes – a more eco-friendly choice than a large concrete slab.
Potential clients also find the cost appealing. The foldable home is priced at €1,000 per square metre. One passer-by said: “You can’t find that anywhere else.”
The construction is fully insulated, comes with a double heat pump, and has the optional add-ons of a patio, balcony or a fully glass wall on one side.
It was made by Baticos, a specialist wood company based in the Alps, which hopes to make the structures available throughout France.
The original design was produced by Italian architectural company A-Frame, for use after emergencies such as earthquakes.
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