Rematter®
Patented earth-timber floor slabs in robotic fabrication
Rematter.
Overview
Collaboration
Developed by ZPF Ingenieure in joint collaboration with Herzog & de Meuron and SENN for the Hortus project in Allschwil
Team
Tobias Bonwetsch, Götz Hilber, Anna Hodel, Tobias Huber, Nico Ros, Remo Thalmann
Sustainable buildings for everyone.
Our start-up Rematter is committed to create circular, low carbon and equitable buildings by unlocking ingenuity, market knowledge and technology for a healthy built environment. With ingenuity, market knowledge and technology, the team of specialists in structural design, robotics, sustainability and finance is making the construction sector fit for the social-ecological future.
Rematter® floor slabs combine high-tech manufacturing with innovative material use to provide highly sustainable and price-competitive solutions for the construction industry. The products preserve vital building materials for the use of future generations.
Origins.
The earth-timber floor slabs have been developed in a joint collaboration with Senn, Herzog & de Meuron and ZPF Ingenieure for the House of Research, Technology, Utopia and Sustainability (HORTUS). The office building aims to set new standards in construction regarding Cradle-to-Cradle design principles and sustainability.
Sustainable floor slabs.
The rematter floor slab system uses widely available, locally sourced, low carbon materials – earth and timber. This allows builders to minimize greenhouse gas emissions, embodied energy, and the overall environmental impact of their buildings, while maximizing performance and comfort. The performance is comparable to conventional concrete solutions. The ecological properties (GHG emissions, embodied energy, circularity) are unrivalled. It provides a unique healthy room climate for living and working.
Our floor slabs are particularly suitable for multi-residential housing but can also be adapted for use in office or educational projects. The slab system satisfies all acoustic and fire requirements, offers a payload up to 5kN/m2, as well as a high thermal storage capacity.
Rematter floor slabs are constructed form a frame of solid timber beams with rammed earth infills. All connections are dry joined or screwed, which allows for an easy disassembly and re-use of all components.
Robotic fabrication.
The patented rematter floor slabs are prefabricated in a controlled environment by robots. The automation process ensures competitive pricing and high, consistent quality. The prefabricated elements require no drying time and allow a fast erection time on-site.