Interlocking wood "bricks" that can assemble into a nail-and-glue-free house

Uh, no. As a Certified Passive House Consultant, I can say definitively that this is so far from qualifying as an actual Passivehaus that it is silly. Achieving an airtightness of 0.6ACH 50 is very difficult to do, and stacking wood without sealing, and dovetail joints with normal wood irregularities will leak air like a sieve when pressurized. The cavity is not particularly wider than the average 2x6 stud wall, which when packed with cellulose will not be close to meeting insulation standards required to achieve the 120 kWh/m² in almost any climate. And finally, as someone with a knowledge of Building Science, there is no attempt to control vapor drive and condensation surfaces in this assembly. Moisture will condense either in the cellulose (bad) or on the backside of the exterior wood (condensing surface) creating a problem. The only thing it has going for it is its drying ability in all directions, but there is no rain screen or other such approach to manage bulk water, sun driven vapor, wind driven moisture, bulk water capillary action, etc. A competent crew can frame, sheath, waterproof, and side a wall way faster than this laborious hammering together each small section. Plus adapting to irregular openings, jogs, cantilevers, etc. is real trouble with this system. Also, when your siding deteriorates in this system, so does your structure - it is not sacrificial, and easily replaceable. And finally, where is the shear diaphragm in these walls? The dovetails only lock to each other horizontally; nothing lock each course together horizontally or diagonally.
Silly system this is. Kinda cool, but oh so impractical and problematic.

3 Likes