Negavatt 2023

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Several grants and competitions are held in Estonia every year to support the implementation of new innovative ideas. In spring 2023, we decided to present our idea at the Negavatt Green Ideas Competition, organised by KIK and the Ministry of the Environment. In the Negavat competition, our aim was to build on the idea developed in the Garage48 competition, which was to develop a patterned building system of basic panels to help rebuild destroyed housing stock in countries in crisis. 

The competition received 41 different ideas. To make it to the finalists’ round, they had to submit a description of the project, create an introductory video of our team and the idea, and then present their idea to the jury within two minutes. Our efforts paid off as we managed to make it into the top ten. This result earned us 1000€ in development funding and the opportunity to take part in an intensive training programme.
Our introduction to Negavatt competition- https://negavatt.ee/1x

During the Negavati competition, we collected knowledge from Kristi Saar on finance and Markko Karu on service and product design. Mayri Tiido explained the principles of the circular economy and how our ideas could be based on it, and Liisa Aavik explained sustainable product development. There were also consultations with Nate Morris, who mentored us to formulate a strong mission and vision for our ideas. 

Negavatt gave the opportunity to go on Vikerraadio and introduce their work to a wider audience. You can listen to it here.

Foto: Kaimar Tauri Tamm

With 1000€ seed capital, we visited the Ecological Construction Competence Centre in Mooste and participated in a 3-day workshop facilitated by Mikk Luht. We learned about different biogenic materials and building techniques. We also explored the properties of straw and how different natural materials can support each other to improve the properties of materials. The development funds were used for further consultations with engineers to further discuss and think through the pros and cons of our building system. In the same way, for the finale, we built a 1:1 scale taproom of our building, which was 95% more biogenic than conventional building technology.

Despite our best efforts, we failed to achieve a prize-winning place this time. However, this did not dampen our spirits, but is rather an igniting force that inspires us to challenge traditional beliefs even more and prove that modular buildings can be created from biogenic materials at an affordable price.

Foto: Kaimar Tauri Tamm