Cubity - Innovative Student Housing
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Cubity - Innovative Student Housing

Cubity - Innovative Student Housing
By Editorial Staff -
Duravit has participated in the project

Cubity was developed by the Darmstadt University of Technology for Solar Decathlon 2014. It offers an innovative concept for student housing that combines cost-effective construction with energy efficiency while also offering students what they need to live their daily lives.
In the search for the right combination of privacy and shared space, this square building (16 m sides) has a glulam structure with polycarbonate façades.
Cubity was conceived as a “village-within-a-house” built around a covered central common area, with a kitchen, gallery and terrace making up the other shared areas. This central area - called the “marketplace” - is overlooked by six two-storey cubes, each composed of two independent living units.
These are the private areas and, with a floor area of just 7.2 sq m, the fitted furniture (bed, cupboard, shelves, table, chair and storage space) is designed to be flexible and functional.
Duravit products from the Happy D.2 and Darling New series were selected for the bathroom areas, as they are the ideal complement to Cubity’s young, experimental residential concept in which quality and comfort must be provided in minimal space.
Each cube has a narrow, full-height window that looks onto the marketplace, but this can be covered with a curtain. At the rear, each cube has a private entrance area. A reversible air-to-water heat pump powered primarily by solar panels on the roof is used to heat or cool the interior and heat drinking water.
Natural light and ventilation for the marketplace comes through the glazed outer walls and the Velux skylights. This area is conceived as an intermediate climate zone, with an underfloor heating and cooling system ensuring a balanced temperature throughout the year.
After the presentation at Solar Decathlon, this energy-plus house will be installed as a living lab on the Lichtwiese campus in Darmstadt where both its energy-related and social aspects will be put to the test over a three-year trial period.

Duravit
Via Faentina, 207 F - I - 48124 Ravenna
Tel. +39 0544 509711 - Fax +39 0544 501694
E-mail: [email protected] - www.duravit.it


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