No Footprint Wood House Waihona Hale Noho by Oliver Schutte

No Footprint Wood House Waihona Hale Noho by Oliver Schutte is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2025 A' Design Award Palatina in Hoʻolālā Huahana Mau Loa, Papahana a me Hoʻolālā ʻŌmaʻomaʻo Competition Category.

PalatinaHuahana Mau Loa· 2025

No Footprint Wood House Waihona Hale Noho

by Oliver Schutte

Client: A-01

A' Design Award Palatina Winner in Huahana Mau Loa Category

1,537,625

Verified Award Winner

Verify Award Status for #164868

Visit Site View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

Colors

The Design

About No Footprint Wood House Waihona Hale Noho

Kū ana ka Hale Lāʻau Kapuaʻi-ʻOle ma ke kahakai Pakipika hema o Kosta Rika. Hoʻohui ka hoʻolālā pili-ea me nā ululāʻau tropika momona a me ka wahi noho kūloaʻa e puni ana. He hapa ka papahana o ka papa Hale Kapuaʻi-ʻOle i lanakila i nā makana nui. Hoʻokumu ʻia nā loli hale ea-pane ma nā hoʻolālā māluhiluhi-ʻole. Ua hoʻohui ʻia nā ʻenehana hana oihana a me nā māhele hana-mua me nā mea kukulu i ʻoki ʻia ma kahi nei a hiki ke hoʻoulu hou ʻia. Hoʻolaha ka papahana i ka mālama-mau piha ma nā ʻano o kona hana kaiāulu, waiwai, honua a me ākea.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award Palatina

Ua lanakila ka hoʻolālā No Footprint Wood House Waihona Hale Noho i ka A' Design Award Palatina, he ʻike hoʻohanohano nui i hāʻawi ʻia i nā hoʻolālā ʻoiaʻiʻo loa ka kūʻokoʻa, ka nani a me ka kamahaʻo. He mau mea kupaianaha o ka hana noʻeau nā lanakila Palatina, he mau hōʻike o nā palena o ka noʻonoʻo hana noʻeau, a hōʻike lākou i ka ʻoihana ʻoi aku a me ka ʻuhane akamai o kā lākou poʻe hoʻolālā. Manaʻo ʻia ʻo kēia mau hoʻolālā nā hana kaulana loa e wehewehe ana i ka nani o kekahi au, kōkua i ke ola pono o ke kaiāulu a hoʻoneʻe i nā palena o ka hana noʻeau, ka ʻepekema, ka hoʻolālā a me ka ʻenehana. Hōʻike ka hoʻolālā No Footprint Wood House Waihona Hale Noho i ke kūlana ʻoi kelakela i ʻoi aku ma mua o ka palena a hoʻomaikaʻi ʻole ʻole i ka honua ma o kona mau ʻano pōmaikaʻi a waiwai. He hana ka hoʻolālā No Footprint Wood House Waihona Hale Noho i lanakila i ka A' Design Award Palatina e hoʻāla i ka makemake, hoʻoulu, hoʻoikaika, hoʻohauʻoli a hoʻā i ka hauʻoli nui.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: The No Footprint Wood House is located along the southern Pacific coast of Costa Rica. Its bioclimatic design integrates with the surrounding tropical forests and natural habitat. The project forms part of the ongoing No Footprint House series. Climate-responsive building variations are based on passive design strategies such as site-specific positioning and the use of natural resources. Industrial building techniques are combined with locally harvested and regenerative construction materials.
Dimensions & Packaging: The laminated wood system is an attractive and locally sourced resource to configure any model of the No Footprint House series. Alternative structural materials can be chosen according to the specific performance criteria, building location and budget. The production process is defined to deliver the project efficiently to any target location. Completely autonomous configurations are available for off-grid locations, including on-site energy production and waste water treatment.
Tags: Bioclimatic, Architecture, Sustainability, Regeneration, Residential, Development, Tropical, Climate, Modular, Design
Production Technology: The different modulations of the No Footprint House series are based on a three-by-three-meter spatial grid layout. Spaces can be configured by the clients according to the personal necessities and budgets. In the case of the wooden house, the specific client asked for two separate private areas of two levels each on both sides of the overall structure, combined with a nine-by-nine-meter double-height social area in between the two private wings. The two private areas are serviced by a central service core on each side, including the staircases, bathrooms and closets. It was the wish of the client to materialize the whole building in wood.
Design Challenge: The main challenge of the No Footprint House series, including the No Footprint Wood House as an expression of its ongoing material development progress, is to unite a broad variety of entities in a joined multistakeholder approach. Such broadness and systemic thinking are required to find solutions for some of the greatest challenges of our time, which includes the decarbonization of all sectors that significantly contribute to global carbon emissions, proposing concrete actions and solutions.
Research: Costa Rica has shifted from a strategy of sustainability to regenerative development. This condition creates numerous implications for housing. In this context, the No Footprint Wood House drives innovation through the development and incorporation of renewable and locally sourced materials in combination with passive design strategies and local energy production. The project is optimized through industrial and prefabricated building techniques, the first of its kind in Central America.
Inspiration: The No Footprint Wood House is based on the some of the history of prefabricated housing schemes in distant locations, such as the Maison Tropicale by Jean Prouve or the Dymaxion House by Buckminster Fuller. The project is also based on a roadmap to level carbon emissions Costa Rica. In this context, the modular building design options provide individual home owners with a variety of opportunities to contribute to the collective goal of balancing carbon emissions.
Project Duration: The actual project duration of each project depends on the specific building size and its respective location. Beyond the building of the house, many of our clients also engage in related strategies of sustainability and regenerative development. This can include strategies reforestation, the creation of food forests, permaculture, local energy production and continuous life cycle improvement. The duration of these aspects can be described as ongoing and potentially endless.
Operation Flow: The No Footprint Wood House has created different levels of interaction. On one hand, there is the classic relation from our team of architects and interior designers with clients and client groups. Moreover, the research arm of the No Footprint House project engages with universities and local material providers to continuously work on the development of improved building solutions that create community benefits with reduced environmental impact and cost, improving overall project performance.
Patents: Copyrights to all building designs belong to A-01 (A Company / A Foundation). The laminated wood system is produced by Woodpecker Costa Rica.
Image Credits: A-01 / Fernando Alda