Different. Better. Building.
The Openly building system
Openly concept
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The longer a building stands, the more sustainable it is.
Buildings should be designed to last 100 years or more and to be maintained in a sustainable manner. Who would ever think of choosing a facade with a lifespan of only 30 years?
Openly relies on skeleton construction, i.e. as few load-bearing walls and as few installations in the floor as possible.
At the end of its life cycle, an Openly can be completely dismantled and represents a raw material depot.
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Everyone knows that there is a huge loss of knowledge during each of the five traditional planning and implementation phases. And no one is changing it.
The Openly construction process envisages a project duration of 20 months from project start to occupancy.
Learn more about our construction process from our project managers.
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The construction industry is responsible for around 25% of annual CO₂ emissions, which is around eight times more than all air traffic. In light of this challenge, OPENLY builders are committed to significantly reducing emissions from new construction and renovation. We achieve -50% or 6kg CO₂/m², putting us among the world leaders.
New discipline in architecture
The future of architecture lies in the development of buildings that are constructed primarily from natural materials and are designed to be energy-positive.
Components with the lowest possible carbon footprint (avoidance of emissions)
materials are recyclable and are installed accordingly
And ideally CO₂ is stored long-term .
Material selection without bias
OPENLY has no material bias and is independent of the construction lobby. The selection of building materials is based exclusively on the principle of the greatest possible benefit for the environment and society.
Wood, concrete and steel should be used specifically where they offer the greatest added value.
Where these materials are not absolutely necessary, their use should be avoided.
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Concrete is a fundamental building material and is indispensable, particularly for basements. The Openly building system consistently relies on concrete types with significantly reduced CO2 emissions (such as Holcim EcoPlanet or Progresso from VICAT) as well as CO2 storage through biochar in the concrete provided by our partner CarstorCon.
Applicable worldwide and certifiable by us.
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Optimal indoor climate thanks to innovative construction
OPENLY windows are characterized by excellent insulation values (U-value of 0.15) and high thermal mass. As a result, the indoor climate responds with a time delay to external temperature fluctuations and remains comfortable at all times.
Natural Temperature Regulation The heat stored during the summer helps heat the rooms in the winter. Conversely, the thermal mass provides pleasant coolness in the summer thanks to the heat stored during the winter. This allows you to enjoy a balanced indoor climate all year round.
Comparison with traditional stone houses The feeling of space is reminiscent of entering an old stone house in Tuscany on a hot summer's day - with the decisive advantage that OPENLY buildings remain pleasantly warm in winter.
Healthy building ecology and ideal humidity Levels The vapor-permeable walls , made of materials such as hempcrete, maintain a constant humidity level of 30–40% in the winter. This promotes a healthy indoor environment and meets the highest ecological standards.
See for yourself Visit our pilot project "Valley Widnau" and experience the exceptional living and working environment on site!
Openly Construction Costs:
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Practiced and implemented sufficiency
Minimal building services, heating costs no more for an Openly than for a "Hüsli"
Approx. 25% of the facade consists of windows; minimal shading provided by solar sliders with integrated PV
Minimal cellars and basements (mobility concepts, etc)
Compact facade, no architectural extravagances.
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Not everything is being redesigned. Our serial hybrid timber construction relies on standards such as a clay ceiling from one of our system suppliers for €250/m². This fits on any truck and is cost-neutral compared to a conventional concrete ceiling.
The same applies to prefabricated interior walls and an absolutely cost-neutral 45cm exterior wall made of hempcrete from www.cancret.com, which is manufactured locally by a local timber builder. No foils, no additional layers. Only the inside and outside are plastered on site. Et voila.
and best of all: the indoor climate is improved, the environment is protected and CO2 is stored.
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We achieve this through the Openly planning and construction process, reduced building services, standardization, prefabrication, and economies of scale in purchasing.
These cost advantages compensate for the sometimes higher component costs.
Commission an Openly preliminary project to obtain a detailed cost calculation.
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We calculate this as follows:
Price fully installed / Material price (lot size 1 truck)
With natural building materials, this is often in the range of 5-7, and with rammed earth walls even as high as 12-16.
A factor of up to 3 is acceptable.
That is why we have developed our own building materials through our subsidiary Cancret.com in the areas of hempcrete and clay-based systems.
We purchase natural building materials directly from suppliers across Europe. Here are a few examples:
List price for clay building board per m²: 38
Purchase price from the manufacturer: 20Catalog price 10cm cork insulation board/m2: 48
Purchase price from manufacturer: 29On the one hand, materials must be purchased in truckloads rather than in small quantities. On the other hand, you need to know how to specify these components, who will install them, and what the finished component will cost.
Openly Circulareconomy
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If an OPENLY engineered building is to be converted or demolished, the planning focus is already on the demolition.
OPENLY constructions are therefore predominantly plugged or screwed together. This means that all components can be completely dismantled and removed.
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The open structural design (always a skeleton construction) and the modular OPENLY standard dimensions allow for flexible repurposing of the buildings in the future. All walls can be removed without restriction, and an OPENLY can be expanded or extended upwards as desired.
This well-designed system is particularly suitable for schools and daycare centers, where teaching methods, class sizes, and usage requirements are constantly changing.
In addition, thanks to its fully bolted and plugged construction, an OPENLY can be dismantled and reassembled at a new location.
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Some of the components in the OPENLY Valley Widnau project already come from re-use. The Swiss innovation leader in the circular economy, EBERHARD, has developed a database for reused iron carriers in collaboration with OEBU.
Around 30 tons of HEB and HEM steel girders were used for OPENLY Valley Widnau, around a third of which were re-used. These steel girders were previously installed in buildings or excavations and are now being reused.
The steel beams act as modular elements in timber box girder ceilings filled with clay. This combination allows the materials to be used where they can optimally develop their respective strengths. This leads to savings in timber and enables jointless and beamless timber ceilings without additional underlays or overlays.
When planning OPENLY Valley, further re-use potential was also taken into account: For example, 400 tons of clay, 1 kilometer of copper pipes and 300 cubic meters of wooden beams can be reused directly in other projects without further processing.
Our carbon footprint takes all relevant factors into account - from transportation from the EBERHARD warehouse to assembly on site. Thanks to the extensive use of Re-Use, we achieve an almost CO2-neutral construction method.
This approach is in line with our holistic carbon management and actively supports the achievement of net zero targets through the use of biogenic building materials and sustainable negative emission technologies.
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The OPENLY building system places particular emphasis on recycling the remaining components. High-quality materials retain their value even after their useful life has expired. We call this a raw material depot.
These include, for example, raw materials from solar cells, glass, hemp fibers, copper, iron, and steel. Recycling these materials makes a sustainable contribution to resource management, because the world is a closed material cycle.
Openly ZERO emissions
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A key component of an Openly is a ventilation system with an Airbox, which is controlled via a plug-and-play solution that includes software and a thermostat.
No electrical planning or special technical expertise is required for installation. It works on the same principle as a cell phone connecting to a speaker.
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Solar panels covering 90 percent of the roof area are virtually indispensable for new construction and renovation projects. In addition to their environmental benefits, they present an economically attractive business case, particularly in light of rising energy costs.
As a rule, the available roof area generates enough energy to achieve the PlusEnergy standard.
The calculation is clear: a solar system in Central Europe produces an average of around 200 kilowatt hours per square meter per year. The energy yield is higher in southern Europe and correspondingly lower in the north. This amount is roughly equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of a dishwasher.
Thanks to the excellent building physics, an OPENLY building only requires around 10 watts per square meter for heating, which makes it much easier to create a PlusEnergy house. Further details on building physics can be found in the corresponding chapters on this website.
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As the electricity is generated by the house's own photovoltaic system, the use of an electrically powered heat pump makes particular sense.
The choice of energy source—such as ground loops, ground baskets, lake water, or air—has a significant impact on the heat pump’s efficiency. Depending on the system and the season, a heat pump can achieve a coefficient of performance (COP) between 3 and 6. In the summer, this figure can even reach 6 for air-source heat pumps.
Put simply, this means that one kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity fed into the grid can generate approximately 3 to 6 kilowatt-hours of thermal energy.
In addition, the integration of storage systems, such as water tanks, allows heat to be stored and used efficiently when surplus energy is available - on sunny days, for example.
Furthermore, the heat pump should be operated during the day if possible in order to use the PV electricity.
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The heating energy requirement for an OPENLY engineered building is around 10 watts per square meter. This very low value opens up a wide range of possibilities for the provision of heating energy in the building.
Traditional systems such as radiators or underfloor heating can be used, as can alternative solutions such as infrared panels (where permitted) or innovative electric tile stoves. The aim is always to keep building technology as simple as possible in order to avoid high costs, maintenance requirements, and limited service life of the installations.
Cooling in the summer is becoming an increasingly important consideration. On the south and west sides, we primarily rely on the Solar Slider. Air conditioning or underfloor cooling is recommended only as a secondary option. Thanks to their solar systems, OPENLY buildings generate enough energy in the summer to operate such systems efficiently.
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In Central Europe, residential buildings often consume more energy for heating water than for heating in winter.
Instead of a conventional boiler, OPENLY uses a central fresh water station with storage tank, which is operated by a heat pump. The hot water is produced on demand and directly at the point of use, ensuring consistently high water quality.
The showers integrated into the prefabricated wet rooms from Dade Design use a closed, decentralized system based on Joulia technology, thereby saving around 30 percent energy.
OPENLY Valley Widnau goes one step further: all wet rooms are prefabricated and installed as complete elements in the timber construction. If the floor plan is changed at a later date, these wet rooms can be easily moved using a pallet trolley.
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Energy storage comprises two central aspects:
A) Seasonal storage for overproduction in summer and demand in winter (currently still unresolved)
B) Day and night storage
An efficient approach to energy storage is to use surplus solar energy to heat storage water for heating and hot water during the day - in contrast to the previous practice of heating these storage tanks at night with cheap nuclear power.
For short-term storage, we rely on a battery system that is connected to the hybrid inverter of the photovoltaic system and also offers emergency power capability. The Valley Widnau pilot project is practically self-sufficient from March to October.
At around 400 euros per kilowatt-hour, the current cost of home batteries is still too high. In the future, electric vehicles are expected to be used as overnight battery storage. For this reason, we currently recommend a cautious approach to investing in home batteries.
In the area of seasonal storage, we intensively examined hydrogen (H2) but rejected it due to a lack of financially and technically feasible solutions in the context of apartment buildings. Compressed air or spring storage could be considered as alternatives.
Energy storage always requires a certain amount of space. That is why we at OPENLY attach particular importance to planning spacious technical rooms so that future storage solutions can be easily integrated.
