FAQ - Frequently asked questions

OPENLY answers your most frequently asked questions about our solutions and systems for net zero residential and office buildings.

  • Our competitors for construction systems include GROPYUS in Germany, 011H in Spain and CREE from Austria.

    The difference to these systems is the CO2 focus, decentralized and adaptable architecture as well as high component flexibility and independence from in-house production capacities.

    Global thinking - regional planning and construction.

  • OPENLY an open building system and not a "building type". The focus on plus-energy means focus and constraints in architecture. The focus on CO2 avoidance means restrictions on volume, structure and materials.

    Andres Herzog wrote an excellent summary in 2022. Book link

    See also our guide here
    Focus on
    Waiver of

  • The approximately 10-year-old 2226 building in Lustenau was far ahead of its time and a milestone that also served as inspiration for OPENLY.
    OPENLY therefore commissioned the proof (Valley Widnau) also commissioned BEA for the submission planning.

    OPENLY goes a decisive step further by consistently thinking of a house as plus energy (and not as a house without heating) and adding the CO₂ focus (gray energy) to the use of resources (building components). We see buildings as C sinks and try to avoid concrete & bricks as much as possible.

    In addition, we have strived for an industrialization of all components that can be used by any building owner and any architectural firm - globally.

    The Rhine Valley/Vorarlberg is the Silicon Valley of sustainable construction - we see this as a joint effort for #co2netzero. The Rhomberg Group with CREE, LehmTonErde or SENN, from which HORTUS originates, as well as the world's first comaking space for joineries is located there.

  • As project coaches and client representatives, we ensure that the decisive criteria are applied to achieve the plus energy and net zero targets.

    Furthermore, they can also have the "courage to leave gaps", which a specialist planner often does not dare to do.

    Sustainability means rethinking and reducing in architecture. (...whereby reduction is not to be equated with deficiency or ugliness).

  • OPENLY is not a label, a standard, an architectural office or an ideology.

    What drives us is a purely fact-based decision-making basis for climate-neutral construction.

    Founder Andy Keel:
    We have no material bias, we are not industry-driven or industry-funded (e.g. concrete lobby) and we are not missionaries (see Academy). We are a team of analysts & practitioners who want to make a global contribution to #co2netzero. Gladly together and openly. #leadthechange

  • The platform fee is 2% of the construction costs. See our offer.

    We prepare a detailed quotation for each project phase and invoice on the basis of daily rates.

    Some of these fees can be deducted from the architects' and specialist planners' fees, as we already provide many components and basic building physics requirements with OPENLY Data and do not have to plan them from scratch.

  • If we are appointed by clients as client representatives and project coaches, we request that your office completes the Academy. The cost is CHF 650/person per course day. This accreditation gives you free access to OPENLY Data (all detailed plans & sections, purchase prices & suppliers) and OPENLY Hotline. You also benefit from the exchange within the OPENLY architects network.

  • We do not presume to know more than specialists. The two training days are intended to give you a deeper understanding of the OPENLY concept and to visit and understand OPENLY Valley Widnau. In particular, building physics and life cycle assessment are covered in the first two days of the course. We have noticed that there is a lot of ignorance about CO₂. For this reason, we motivate building owners and architects to complete the academy. You can choose the third day as a deep dive and is intended as an in-depth course.

  • All calculations are carried out in accordance with ISO 14067 & EN 15804+A2. They are based on data from ÖKOBAUDAT (or Switzerland KBOB). We calculate both direct emissions and indirect CO₂ emissions (on Scope 3, i.e. including transportation and subcontractors).

    The Module D recycling potential is shown under the circular construction approach, but is not included in the overall balance. If a component is CO₂ negative and has been used for > 60 years, we include CO₂ capturing (e.g. solid structural timber, hemp & biochar). If the wood is only used for a short period of time (e.g. kitchens or windows) and is then used to generate energy, Module D provides the option of showing a credit for substituted fossil fuels. As module D is not part of the actual building life cycle by definition, it is often referred to as information module D and not included in the overall balance. The KBOB also follows this principle (= does not even recognize module D).

  • The OPENLY principles include:

    • Aiming for energy-plus buildings

    • Pure timber construction or timber-concrete-steel hybrid construction

    • Commitment by building owners to massively reduce CO2 emissions (> 30%)

    Optional criteria:

    • Controlled domestic ventilation with OPENLY airboxes

    • OPENLY OS - Operating System

    • Hempcrete or straw insulation

    • Hemp brick room partitions

    • Clay-wood ceilings (hollow box or other systems)

    • Clay walls

    • Biochar concrete

    • C02 neutralized reinforcing steel

    • Re-use steel beams

    • Showers with heat recovery / fresh water station

    • Prefabricated wet rooms

    • Lime plaster or diffusion-open walls

    • Digital power installation

    • Surface-mounted electrical installations / Glued-on wireless push-buttons (Enocean)

  • Founder Andy Keel: The dangers of climate change are driving us to achieve our #CO₂netzero goal as quickly as possible. The construction industry is responsible for 25% of CO2 emissions. We need to replace building materials as quickly as possible.

    We need to bring buildable, scalable and affordable solutions to the construction industry as quickly as possible. The drivers for this are developers and portfolio managers (refurbishment) and not politicians or architects.

    With OPENLY Valley Widnau, we have provided the proof.

    Now we are making this know-how openly available.

  • The Rhine Valley / Vorarlberg has become the Silicon Valley of sustainable construction. In addition to OPENLY & BEA, the Rhomberg Group is also based there with CREE, LehmTonErde and SENN (from which HORTUS originates), as well as the world's first comaking space for joineries.

  • It's quite simple. There is no "Birkenstock faction" in our team. Through a purely analytical process in component evaluation, we repeatedly came across "biogenic" building materials, as only these have a small or even negative footprint. The discovery was simply hemp as insulation. As this is negative with approx. 100kg/m3 CO2 and grows in the field in front of the house.

    But OPENLY is also software and technology(building control). At some point we came across the word bionic, which perfectly describes which building materials we use openly. This term is also open enough to include, for example, biopolymers (bioplastics) and also our OPENLY operating system (building control).

  • We currently calculate the CO₂ balance manually on an hourly basis. We are preparing an automated calculator based on Ökobaudat/Baubook. The aim is to permanently integrate this into OPENLY in 2025 and make it available to other tools and websites via API.

    The basis is the Ökobaudat or KBOB in Switzerland.

  • Bound CO₂ in biochar is the first available and tradable CO₂ certificate today.

    Further certificates are in preparation for solid structural timber and hempcrete and we expect them in summer 2024.

    A lot will happen in this area in the next 2-10 years, especially in the field of biopolymers and natural fibers. Because nature (trees & plants) are still the most effective materials for CO₂ capturing.

    It is important to start thinking of a house as a CO₂ storage facility.

  • Houses planned and built with the OPENLY construction system strive for plus energy. This means that the energy usually generated from PV (annual balance) is greater than the energy consumed for heating and hot water.

    The key to achieving these values is a roof fully covered with PV, compact architecture (with the smallest possible envelope), 25-30% window area and ceilings that can store energy (heat and cold). OPENLY buildings (see Valley Widnau project) are barely recognizable as PlusEnergy houses from the outside and inside - so they are not "solar façade bunkers".

  • A few years ago, our founder Andy Keel sat down at a table in Andalusia and wrote a project outline for a CO₂-neutral plus-energy house. He has extensive expertise and excellent industry contacts from the construction and IT businesses he built up himself. In 3 years, the OPENLY team was built up, the component innovations developed and the first stage of the Valley Widnau project with 19 apartments implemented.

    The idea was always to pass on the knowledge gained - hence the name openly

    Andy Keel also calls this #Leadthechange #GenX.

    As many components and materials were not yet available, the AIRBOX, the OPENLY system for building control and hempcrete, for example, were newly developed and industrialized. (Largest hemp house in Europe). At times, the OPENLY planning and development team has grown to over 20 people. In the meantime, OPENLY has been developed to the tune of several million euros. All expenses were borne by OPENLY. Funding: 0 CHF (not a joke, a fact).

  • The proof with the Valley Widnau project was pre-financed with the help of a private family & bank mortgage and then divided into 19 condominium units and sold.

    The remaining equity, in particular for component development, CO2 certificates and patents, comes from operating income, savings and borrowed capital from founder Andy Keel. The claim "Because it matters" comes from him. He also calls it #Leadthechange #GenX

    We have no more time - every ton of CO2 saved counts.

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