Ripple is not only the company that issues the XRP cryptocurrency. Ripple is also the name of something that has nothing to do with cryptocurrencies: a zero consumption house designed by the University of Technology in Eindhoven.
The eco-sustainable housing module
The goal of the people who designed this housing module, namely the students of VIRTUe in Eindhoven, is to create a house that is sustainable and encourages an eco-friendly lifestyle.
It is a wooden structure made of 80% materials that can also be reusable. The house is also suitable for installation on existing buildings, so it can also be a solution for those urban spaces already lacking areas for new construction.
Ripple is equipped with colored solar panels on its facade. This allows it to reclaim roof space that can be used for social activities.
It is also equipped with an intelligent system called EQUI that encourages the inhabitants of the house to live a sustainable and cost-saving lifestyle. For example, EQUI ensures that electricity consumption is equidistributed throughout the day.
For example, it tells users when is the best time to turn on the washing machine or dishwasher.
An app to encourage sustainability and earn money
The VIRTUe team is also working on an app, called Recapp, which will be a social platform with which Ripple residents can earn digital tokens if they pursue eco-friendly behaviors. The app sets monthly goals that are accomplished by, for example, taking fewer showers and eating healthy.
The tokens can be spent in a digital world that will function like a game, like The Sims.
Willem Arts of VIRTUe explained:
“Want to stimulate people in a playful and positive way to start living more sustainably”.
Ripple, the modular home for the city of the future
Ripple looks a bit like a Lego brick, as a drop in to change the way we build cities. It can be embedded in complex residential structures as it is perfectly modular.
The fixed parts are wooden columns that provide the load-bearing capacity and durability of concrete, with no negative emissions. The flexible parts are the facades, modules, bathroom and kitchen that can be disassembled, reassembled, changed and replaced.
Inside, the hallways become common spaces that encourage shared environments and appliances. It is in these communal spaces that EQUI is located, taking the form of an interactive display.
The Ripple module, after being exhibited in Eindhoven, will take part in the Solar Decathlon Europe 2022 and perhaps this competition will be the first step in encouraging the construction of diverse cities.
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