In Gothenburg, an innovation project has been carried out with the aim to construct a fossil-free preschool with no carbon footprint throughout the whole lifecycle of the building. In a new virtual tour from Smart City Sweden, visitors can walk around the preschool and learn about the smart solutions that have been implemented in Hoppet.
The Hoppet, or ‘hope’, preschool was created to become a role model in driving the transition to fossil-free building processes. The aim was to develop products that enable a new standard for fossil-free construction. The preschool was completed at the end of 2021 and can now be accessed digitally in a new virtual reality tour.
The tour was created by Smart City Sweden, a platform that works to share Swedish, sustainable solutions and start collaborations between Sweden and other countries. Oskar Jonsson, Innovation Officer at the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, who has been a part of the platform, led the work with creating the tour.
– It is fantastic to be able to show all the different solutions, have in-depth conversations and share knowledge about them, without the carbon footprint of flying all over the world, says Oskar Jonsson.
In the tour, the viewer can follow the process of constructing the building and get insights into the steps that have been taken to create a sustainable building. Visitors are able to learn about the building materials used to reduce the climate impact, smart solutions to minimize water use, see the green roofs that have been installed to increase biodiversity, and more.
Sustainable materials and reuse
The project has mapped the CO2 generated at all stages of construction. The aim was to use no fossil substances or fuels, neither in the materials and products nor for transportation and machines. To reduce the climate impact, the frame is made of wood from Swedish forests. Cross-laminated timber (CLT) has been used for the interior walls. Another important factor to reduce the carbon footprint has been using local products, reusing materials and interior as well as using products made of recycled materials. One example is the ground pipes, which are made from waste material and bioplastics.
Challenging the construction industry
Hoppet was created to challenge the conventional construction industry and encourage change. And the result from the innovation project is clear. The climate impact of the main building materials was reduced by 70 % compared to an equivalent preschool built using traditional methods. This was achieved through conscious material choices and demonstrating the benefits of calculating the climate impact when making decisions in the planning phase.
– The very first project in the innovation programme Hoppet clearly shows the huge interest from many construction industry players in taking part in and leading the transition to more sustainable materials and methods, says Elsa Fahlén, Innovation Leader at the local premises administration in the city of Gothenburg.
Even though the Hoppet preschool is finished, the innovation pilots continue. Two auxiliary buildings at the preschool site are used as testbeds for investigating the possibility of using clay and hempcrete as building materials on an industrial scale to decrease the climate footprint.
Hoppet is a part of the city of Gothenburg’s goal to become ecologically sustainable by 2030. The preschool is just the first part of the innovation programme, which will continue to focus on the reuse of building products, building with wood and other materials with a low climate impact, as well as emission-free construction sites. The Hoppet preschool can be seen as a good and inspirational example of sustainable construction for cities around the world.
For more information about Hoppet, contact:
Elsa Fahlén, [email protected]
