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31st May 2019
Founded in Australia by two sisters, Camilla and Pavla, ecokit was created to encourage inexperienced individuals to become part in the construction process of their home.
Ecokit assists with the design and planning of the project, followed by a delivery of a prefabricated, flat-packed, mass-customizable construction system that can be configured to meet many individual needs.
The designers created a premium quality home, that is energy efficiency and sustainable. Ecokit homes are also designed with capabilities to be fully off the grid and to withstand unpredictable weather conditions. Ecokit home, assembled from a modular “kit-of-parts” system and shipped to the building site as a flat-pack, made its debut in Jindabyne, Australia in 2018.
In July and August of 2018, the two first ecokit homes were built in the famous ski resort of Jindabyne. The units made to be completely self-sufficient and fully equipped for a comfortable stay. ‘You simply assemble the big plywood blocks, just like an oversized lego bricks,’ says Camilla Novotna, who with her sister Pavla co-founded ecokit in 2015.
‘The system comes together very quickly, even without any heavy machinery and with unskilled labour. The two models assembled in Jindabyne – which include two self-contained units with 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms altogether – were assembled by 4 to 6 people within about 5 weeks. All that in the middle of winter in alpine conditions.’ The kit-of-parts delivered as a flat-packed system excels for its ease of assembly – the components easily fit together with pre-engineered connections, and the assembly can be done by a group of handy people with minimal tools.
This innovative construction system is intended to allow the owners to build their homes in remote areas, without the need for a crane. manufactured in the heart of Europe, in the Czech Republic, Camilla’s home country, the structural system is fabricated from a sustainably harvested engineered timber, predominantly plywood and LVL (laminated veneer lumber), filled in with prefabricated insulated wall/roof/floor panels.
The envelope system can be customized to meet net zero and passive house standards. ‘We don’t endeavour to be the cheapest prefab system in any way. Our system is a very high-quality, sustainable product and we are building for performance and energy efficiency,’ says Camilla. ‘We are very sensitive towards the environment,’ adds company co-founder Pavla. ‘so all parts of the ecokit system are 100% recyclable.’
