JAN BAXEWANOS - Modular & Green

Modular & Green

Prefabricated Timber Housing

Master Thesis / Project

Modular & Green

Prefabricated Timber Housing for Vienna, AT

The accelerating impacts of climate change and the overheating of urban environments pose significant challenges to architecture and the building industry. The role these sectors play—whether positive or negative—hinges on construction methods, material selection, and architectural design. This project explores how prefabrication, modular construction, automated design processes, and intensive green planting can contribute to creating a more sustainable, beautiful, and cooler built environment. Two key issues lie at the heart of this exploration: First, while modular construction can be more sustainable than traditional methods, it often results in banal architecture that disregards beauty and the quality of life for inhabitants. Second, as climate change intensifies, urban environments continue to overheat, and the sealing of soils is becoming increasingly untenable. This project develops a modular system aimed at rethinking how we build—incorporating prefabrication and automation to create architecture that is inherently sustainable, enhances quality of life, and integrates nature into the urban fabric.