Delivering modern ventilation solutions to support sustainable housing for all

Systemair supports BoKlok in its aim to make homeownership accessible to everyone through climate-neutral production

Boklok Housing, Sweden

BoKlok, an innovative housing concept by Ikea and Skanska aiming to deliver sustainable, high-quality new homes, has partnered with Systemair to secure quality ventilation solutions and services in line with the organisation’s high standards.

1,200 Houses and apartments

Annual production of BoKlok

700SAVE Air Handling Units

delivered by Systemair to BoKlok annually

1,500 Air distribution products

delivered by Systemair to BoKlok annually

55%

Reduction in carbon emissions of occupants living in BoKlok due to fabric efficiencies and installed ventilation technologies

Reliable production and delivery

Efficient production and optimised delivery to meet BokLok’s streamlined development of 1200 apartments and townhouses annually.

Unified approach and strong cooperation

Robust collaborative approach with homeowners at the center to ensure quality ventilation solutions in every home and maintain the company’s high standards and sustainability goals.

Robust and high-quality products

Energy efficient, simple, and robust ventilation solutions at large-scale deliveries.

Holistic turnkey solutions to ensure quality installations in all homes

Systemair provides a complete turnkey solution from production to commissioning, ensuring the reliable operation of every home.

Photo credit: BoKlok

‘Modern affordable homes made for the multitudes’

Swedish furniture giant Ikea and Skanska, a leading development and construction company in Sweden, collaborated to create an innovative housing concept that offers new, cosy, sustainable and affordable homes for all. The result was BoKlok (Live Smart), dedicated to developing "modern homes meant for the multitudes".

BoKlok delivers prefabricated homes by adopting IKEA's innovative approach to democratic design in its production process. This approach revolves around five fundamental principles: form, function, sustainability, quality and low price. The homes are made of natural materials and developed with highly energy-efficient design supported by a nice layout offering natural light and comfortable living spaces.

Photo credit: BoKlok

The concept for BoKlok began in the 1990s when Ikea Founder Ingvar Kamprad and then-Skanska President Melker Schörling worked together to address the lack of affordable housing in Sweden. Together, they wanted to support an overlooked segment of people that may be priced out of typical modern homes across the country.

Skanska reports that BoKlok's guiding point became the question: "How much can a single nurse with a child afford to spend on a home?" The answer was about SEK 3,000 (USD 380) at the time. This became the foundation for all major decisions, driven by the desire to make homeownership accessible to all.

BoKlok has produced more than 14,000 homes with a portfolio spanning over two decades. The focus is not just on building new homes but on "sustainable new communities for the long term". BokLok has maintained an impressive track record across Sweden, Norway and Finland. In 2019, it was launched in the UK.

BoKlok is operating to have its entire value chain climate-neutral by 2030. When BoKlok wanted to reduce energy consumption in 2016 in its buildings by replacing the ventilation units, it quickly became apparent that Systemair was the right partner for the future.

We were looking for a ventilation solution that was energy efficient, simple, and robust. One of our values as a company is to 'get better together, and we saw that Systemair fit in there too. Today we have a long-term and prestigious partnership that benefits both parties.

Stefan Ferrari,
Product Developer and Energy Specialist, BoKlok Housing AB
Niklas Centervall of Systemair Sweden with Stefan Ferrari from BoKlok Housing AB

A collaborative partnership

Several elements make the cooperation between the two companies unique, adds Niklas Centervall, Product Manager for the Residential Ventilation business area at Systemair Sweden. “One aspect is that we deliver a complete turnkey solution. We take responsibility from the time the units are produced in our factory in Lithuania until they are commissioned in the apartments by our own service company, and the apartments have undergone the OVK inspection. This solution allows me and the customer to sleep well, knowing that it is installed correctly and in the same way everywhere.”

BokLok completes up to 90% of the homes in the factory and only 10% out on the construction site. This ensures that fewer people are working on sites for a much shorter duration, creating less waste, and reducing the number of deliveries to the site by over 75%. BokLok workers are also working efficiently and travelling shorter distances, thereby reducing the number of overall transport movements by 50% compared to traditional construction.

Photo credit: BoKlok

Another unique factor that sets the cooperation apart is both parties' ability to minimise transport by having the products driven directly to the customer when they arrive from the factory. Every three weeks, a truck drives out to BoKlok's house factory in Gullringen on the coast of Småland with Systemair's delivery from the factory in Lithuania.

"As Systemair, because we work with a long lead time, we can plan our production and deliveries well in advance, which allows us to find solutions like this that are both environmentally friendly and practical and efficient," says Niklas Centervall.

Delivering ventilation solutions of the future

BoKlok produces 1,200 homes a year. Systemair currently supplies the following to all of BoKlok's apartments:

  • SAVE VTR 250 air handling units

  • SAVE VTR 150B air handling units

  • BOR supply air diffusers and cooker hoods

Overall, Systemair delivers 700 SAVE units and about 1,500 BOR supply air units annually.

BokLok houses use only a fraction of the embodied carbon of traditionally built homes, with just 1/27th of the carbon created in its delivery. Occupants typically cut their carbon emissions by 55% because of the fabric efficiencies and technology installed.

It is the end customer - the person who will live in the apartment - that is in mind when Niklas Centervall and Stefan Ferrari discuss the best ventilation solutions for the future.  

We see the next generation of BoKlok houses and end customers in front of us when we discuss what will be the next step in development

Stefan Ferrari
Product Developer and Energy Specialist, BoKlok Housing AB

BOR
Residential air diffuser with low sound generation
BOR-C
BOR-R
BOR-S