GS E&C collaborates with LG Electronics to expand presence in Europe

GS E&C President Huh Yoon-hong, left, and Danwood CEO Jaroslaw K. Jurak, pose in front of a Smart Cottage displayed at the venue for the IFA 2023 in Berlin, Friday. Courtesy of GS E&C

By Park Jae-hyuk

A Smart Cottage is on display during the IFA 2023 in Berlin. Courtesy of GS E&C

The Smart Cottage, a prefabricated home developed jointly by GS E&C's European subsidiary, Danwood, and LG Electronics, was unveiled at the IFA 2023, the largest home appliances exhibition in Europe, which kicked off last Friday in Berlin, the Korean builder said Monday.

Since May, GS E&C and LG Electronics have collaborated on developing the Smart Cottage.

GS E&C utilized its expertise in building modular homes, while LG Electronics took advantage of technologies on home appliances, energy and air conditioner systems.

In particular, Danwood's steel-timber hybrid modular construction technology was used for the Smart Cottage to be a house that needs just 40 percent of the annual primary energy required by a similar reference house, in accordance with Germany's Efficiency House 40 Plus standard.

LG Electronics equipped the Smart Cottage with smart heating, ventilation and air-conditioning technologies, a 4-kilowatt solar panel on the roof and an energy storage system, so that the prefabricated home can be a “net-zero house” tailored for the European market.

“It was meaningful that Germany, the main market for Danwood, became the place where we unveiled the Smart Cottage equipped with the high-efficiency energy technologies of GS E&C and LG Electronics,” GS E&C President Huh Yoon-hong said in a press release. “Both companies will continue cooperation to come up with innovative residential spaces in Korea as well.”

In 2020, GS E&C acquired Danwood, a prefabricated timber-frame house builder which was founded in 1972 in Poland.

Danwood has held an especially large market share in Germany, one of the leading markets in Europe, according to GS E&C.

With the development of the Smart Cottage tailored for European customers, the Korean builder expects Danwood to expand its presence in other European countries.