The architect Kocycha's house was the first wooden building in our country to receive the SBToolCZ certification

The passive house in Frýdek-Místek by architect Michael Kocycha has become the first wooden construction in our country to receive the quality certificate SBToolCZ. The certificate issued by the independent certification body – The Czech Institute for Testing and Certification in Prague – is proof that the building meets demanding quality criteria in accordance with the principles of sustainable development.
      High energy consumption is one of the main risks of today's society. Buildings consume the most energy, but at the same time, they also offer the greatest potential for savings. Europe is therefore clearly moving towards passive buildings. For example, France wants to have only buildings that produce more energy than they consume starting in 2020.
      For architect and investor Michael Kocycha, the decision to build a passive house was just a natural outcome of his architectural practice so far: “For me, it is a reasonable solution given the rising energy prices and the environment. Why not build sustainably and ecologically if it is possible? For the reasons that are close to me, I chose to build a passive house. And even though the investment costs are a bit higher and the entire construction is slightly more complicated.”
     The building itself is designed as a wooden construction based on oak beams. The floor plan forms a rectangle with a usable area of 124 m². The layout solutions conform to the principles of passive construction – the living rooms are oriented to the south. The house has a double-row construction system of type two by four, where the internal structure is load-bearing, while the external, non-load-bearing one supports the façade system. This system defines space for storing thermal insulation with a thickness of 520 mm based on mineral wool. The walls are anchored together with wooden boards, visually forming ladders. The roof will have a vegetation layer, and the windows are glazed with insulating triple glazing. The heating is warm air with recuperation, and the water heating is provided by rooftop solar panels.
     The layout, materials used, and construction technologies were the basis for successful certification by the SBToolCZ system. SBToolCZ is a national certification tool for expressing the quality level of buildings in accordance with the principles of sustainable development. It was created as an equivalent to foreign systems such as LEED or BREEAM. The system was developed by experts from the Czech Technical University (ČVUT), CIDEAS, and the Czech Society for Sustainable Building. Martin Vonka from ČVUT states: “The advantage of SBToolCZ certification is that it takes into account the specifics of Czech construction and allows for a more precise and thorough evaluation of the project in terms of sustainable construction criteria and the anticipated use of the building after completion. The tool complies with both international and domestic standards.” SBToolCZ evaluates the building based on 33 criteria of sustainable construction. Experts assess the project based on precisely defined procedures in the environmental area, as well as from social, technical, economic, management, and local standpoints. Buildings are assessed by auditors from The Czech Institute for Testing and Certification in Prague.