At Biokabin, we started with one simple idea that not enough people were working on: how about building a small dwelling made of wood that doesn’t use any toxic finish or material off-gassing?
Modern homes have become more efficient, and that’s good: as building techniques got more precise, homes are more air-tight, requiring less energy to keep comfortable.
Unfortunately, homes that don’t “breathe” and were built with unhealthy products have bigger concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), off-gassing, and lack of proper ventilation can make hazardous the thing we most cherish: spending time at home with our loved ones.
Ours is the era of VOCs. They are found in so many substances, products, and surfaces that fencing ourselves from them would be a full-time job —and we’d be perceived as loonies or worse. They rarely cause irritation, headache, or nausea in low concentrations, though they do in some people. However, high concentrations can damage the liver, kidneys, and central nervous system.
After World War II, most mainstream building materials and furnishings were developed using substances like plastics, glues, and finishes that prioritized cost, convenience and looks over any other concerns; as decades passed, studies across the world have revealed that VOCs and poor indoor air quality in the places where we spend more time (at home, at work) have increase allergies and autoimmune diseases.
The trend is especially concerning in the most developed countries, where VOC-leaking materials have been most pervasive for a long time.
When conceiving Biokabin, we thought there was a simple way to keep the benefits of modernity—efficiency, precision, good looks— while making sure our modular home was healthy for people to stay inside: what is a house (or a backyard cottage, a cabin in Nature, etc.) for, if not to protect the people living inside? How come we’ve spent the last decades designing houses that make indoor air quality radically more hazardous than walking across an urban center?
Biokabins are made of wood that is treated with no VOC finishes. The other products involved in the modular eco-home are:
- No VOC paint for the exterior, protective coating;
- steel bolts to adjust and keep in place (as well as allowing for assembly, disassembly, and reassembly);
- and insulation made of wood fiber.
We are also working to source code-compliant sanitary equipment, electric supplies, and appliances that don’t leak any hazardous substances, making Biokabin healthy for everyone, including pregnant women, babies, and people suffering from autoimmune diseases. Those fortunate enough not to suffer from allergies or autoimmune diseases also benefit from clean air inside Biokabin, even when it’s not aired out because it’s too cold or hot outside.
Some people have asked us: what’s an eco-home? Isn’t it just a “home.” Given the poor air quality and the high concentration of hazardous insulation, materials, finishes, and furnishings, any new “home” today isn’t an “eco-home.” Hence, there is a need to state that Biokabin is VOC free.
Biokabin isn’t the only light on the land. It’s also healthy for people in and around it.
