“We are the ideal choice for architectural studios and designers looking for a reliable partner proven in advanced foreign markets,” says Miroslav Veselý, director of the Czech branch of ELK. His conviction is based on more than 65 years of experience of the ELK KAMPA Group, a pioneer and leader in the field of sustainability and energy-efficient prefabricated construction.
The ambition of the local branch of the Austrian company ELK is to become a platform for top-notch individual architecture within the territory of the former Czechoslovakia and to be a sought-after partner for architects whose clients target the so-called niche segment when building family houses for their own use. Such people come to the studios with a fairly clear idea of a house designed by a creative architect, whose approach can go beyond the limits of conventional construction in many ways.
Premium quality from ELK
“Clients who plan to build their own family home in the premium segment will in most cases appreciate top quality, material innovations, sustainable construction and energy efficiency. Or it is what they require from the very beginning. What is also important for them is the duration of the construction, which is greatly influenced by the choice of technology. Having minimal worries about the construction process also plays a significant role. And we can offer all of this to architects who work on the designs of such houses. We can be a useful partner who can materialize both their visions and clients’ ideas. And we can also save them a lot of work and worries,” says Miroslav Veselý, whose role is to fulfil the aforementioned ambition in the Czech Republic, about the company’s ‘skills’. “We can also combine materials and construction systems, for instance our frame structures for external and internal partitions with exposed CLT ceilings or bio-panels on selected interior walls. It is entirely common for us to build hybrid residential buildings, and it is what architects like to hear because exposed wood is trendy,” he adds. And he believes that he will be able to achieve this goal. Not only thanks to his own experience with individualization and a customer-oriented approach, but above all thanks to the high-quality products, precision and comprehensiveness of the services provided. For decades, the ELK Group has been perceived in the DACH region (German-speaking countries – author’s note) as an initiator of innovations in the field of architecture, sustainability and prefabrication.
New strategy, new challenges
The ‘bespoke living’ concept is aimed at the most demanding clientele from among individual builders. The ELK Group entered the local market at the beginning of this year under the ELK Individual brand. In June, they opened the ELK Individual Centre at their headquarters in Veleslavín, Prague. According to M. Veselý, this serves primarily for inspiration, which can also be partly drawn from the newly created website elkindividual.com.
However, the Czech Republic is not a completely unknown field for ELK. The company operated here between 2008 and 2012, when they aimed to build standard family houses. “There is huge competition in this segment in the local market, where the fight for customers is very often primarily based on price. So – despite many years of experience and demonstrable success in German-speaking markets – the business ended up in the red at that time. ELK then withdrew from the local market for a while,” recalls Miroslav Veselý, who heads the ELK Individual branch in Prague. The company’s name reflects one of the paths that the entire group has been gradually taking since 2017. That is, the path of providing top-notch individual services and high-quality products in the area of premium housing. And it is this strategy, in which they believe in the Central European market, that they have chosen for their return to the Czech and Slovak markets. After less than a year in the Czech Republic, they have already established cooperation not only with several freelance architects, but also with studios of various sizes. These also include the renowned architectural studio CASUA, who are behind many residential projects in Prague.
Precision and production capacity as their asset
Trucks leave the factories in the Lower Austrian town of Schrems and Freiwald, Germany, in all directions every day, delivering entire houses, or more precisely prepared prefabricated components, to German-speaking countries and Central and Eastern European countries. Teams of experienced craftsmen and builders, supplied by ELK together with professional supervision, then assemble the shell structure of the house from these. “It can be said without exaggeration that there are no limits to the imagination and size of houses. With our technology, we can prepare and build basically anything that the client wants and the architect designs from high-quality prefabricated components. And what’s more, we can do it really quickly. The factory in Schrems, Lower Austria, alone produces an average of four houses per day. Apart from that, in 2027, we will put a new production line into operation, a site covering more than four hectares,” says M. Veselý. And he explains that prefabricating wall, ceiling and roof components directly in the production halls ensures a fast, dry and, moreover, completely precise assembly of the shell. It is then erected on the prepared foundation slab within a few days, in the case of a more complex and extensive construction within a week. From the signing of the contract, the entire implementation process, which begins with the issuance of a building permit, usually takes six to twelve months.
To give you an idea of how flexible ELK Individual is, Miroslav Veselý also describes atypical concierge services. “In our factory, we are now preparing a tailor-made house and a high seat connected to water and electricity for hunters. We will deliver an autonomous solar-powered chicken coop to a chicken farmer’s house. All of this, among other things, defines how cooperation can expand beyond the usual. In comparison, an order for a 450 sq m building, in which not a single room is smaller than 40 sq m, may seem like a standard,” smiles the head of ELK Individual.
Cooperation with residential developers
The Czech Republic, where houses built from timber prefabricated structures are very popular, represents an important market for the ELK KAMPA Group. And their popularity will continue to grow, thanks to the amendment to the standard on the construction of multi-storey timber-framed houses. One of the main reasons is the fact that no other construction method can build large-scale, high-quality and sustainable buildings so quickly and economically.
The fact that premium and sustainable housing produced by the ELK Group does not have to be just a matter of individual development is demonstrated by the apartment buildings built within the Timber Praha project. They were completed last year in Stodůlky, Prague, by UBM Development Czechia. The project, which is part of the Arcus City residential complex, became the first multi-storey timber-framed residential building built in the metropolis. The developer cooperated on its implementation with the ELK TECH company, which has been building from prefabricated materials for more than half a century. And has been a partner of multi-storey construction projects in Austria and Germany for over 30 years.
The Timber Praha project in Prague, which consists of a combination of a timber-framed structure with massive CLT panels, not only stands out for its extraordinary efficiency, as evidenced by the energy certificate of category A, but also received the BREEAM Excellent environmental certification. It is thus a clear example of the future that lies in prefabrication and timber-framed buildings.
“Working on development projects in which we acted as subcontractors is a great experience for us. This helped us to learn to handle demanding project management and to set up effective communication with investors and other suppliers. I therefore believe that in the coming months, we will be able to start cooperation with residential developers and architects designing individual houses in the Czech Republic,” states Miroslav Veselý, whose goal is to make ELK Individual the first choice for all those looking for an experienced, reliable and proven partner in this area.
Jana Hrabětová
Photo: ELK archive