This autumn, in a quiet residential street in Cambridge, a family will move into their stunning new Baufritz home. Featuring a striking contemporary design and clad almost entirely in timber, this healthy and sustainable building has been designed around the needs of its users, featuring the latest prefabricated construction technology and a wealth of features to make it fit for modern family life.
For Baufritz, completing its 50th bespoke-designed prefabricated house is an important milestone since the company came to the UK in 2006. But the company can trace its roots – and its unique ethos – back much further.
Baufritz has been producing timber houses since 1896, when master carpenter Sylvester Fritz founded the company. Baufritz has remained a family firm ever since, and has been run since 2004 by Sylvester’s great-granddaughter, Dagmar Fritz-Kramer.
From Baufritz’s headquarters in Bavaria, the company has pioneered the construction of healthy, sustainable homes. From solvent-free paint to responsibly sourced timber, customers know that every material has been carefully specified for its quality, durability and sustainability.
Take Baufritz’s unique 100% natural wood shaving insulation material for example, which is used as standard in all Baufritz homes. Wall and roof panels are filled with a 24cm thick layer of shavings, providing exceptional insulation values between 0.2 Wm²K and 0.16W/m²K. In addition to being breathable, the product is fire, mould and insect resistant. It is treated with natural products to ensure there are no health risks – unlike other insulation methods which can cause respiratory problems or skin irritation. It is the first sustainable Cradle to Cradle insultation material in the world – an example of Baufritz’s efforts to develop materials and houses that minimise its environmental impact and create healthy home environments for its customers.
Underpinning Baufritz’s approach and success is the company’s focus on its customers. Every home in the UK is designed to individual clients’ needs by Baufritz’s talented team of UK-based architects and designers. Once planning has been secured, customers then spend three to four days at Baufritz’s headquarters in Germany, where the Baufritz team help them to choose every last detail of their home, from floor finishes to door handles.
Once the house has been built with millimetre perfect precision in Baufritz’s state of the art factory, it is shipped to the UK where it is constructed by Baufritz’s hard-working and talented construction team. Prefabrication means that houses can be weathertight within three to four days, with completion following shortly thereafter – a far cry from typical building methods. Throughout the design and construction process, customers are given all the support they need by Baufritz’s expert sales and project management team.
The end result? An individually tailored, beautifully designed and craftsman-built home that is modern, healthy and sustainable – all are unique. Alongside the Cambridge family home Baufritz has recently built an eco-friendly guesthouse in the South Downs, a stylish contemporary house in a London conservation area and a luxury family home in Surrey. The company is currently on site with a charming new house in Scotland.
