Magazine

#greenbuilding

Sustainability with wind and wood

Using a thermal activation system in connection with structural timber design works very well with rammed earth as well, as shown by the extension to the headquarters of Windkraft Simonsfeld in Lower Austria. This new build had a positive carbon footprint even during the construction phase.

Their first wind turbines were connected to the grid in 1998. Today, Windkraft Simonsfeld AG is one of Austria’s biggest producers of wind power, operating a total of 94 wind power plants. Overall, the company generates 741.3 million kWh of green electricity per year, which corresponds to about 185,300 households. The huge upswing experienced in the industry is rooted in Austria’s Renewable Energy Expansion Act. This aims to achieve a transition to renewable energy sources to fulfil the country’s entire electricity requirements by 2030.

Windkraft Simonsfeld, Yuri Troy, Holzbau, Stampflehm, Erweiterung, Ernstbrunn, Niederösterreich — A good alliance for the climate: wood and rammed earth ensured a positive carbon footprint even during the construction phase.

Although the company headquarters in Ernstbrunn were only built in 2014, the strong growth of recent years meant they quickly outgrew the available space. In their design for the extension, architectural studio Juri Troy chose a two-storey hybrid timber-clay structure that creates a unified whole with the existing building.

Teamwork produces results

The thought process needed to develop the actual workplace was not simply outsourced, however. Chief Financial Officer of Windkraft Simonsfeld, Alexander Hochauer, explains their approach: “It was important for us to include the team right from the outset. So we formed a user group consisting of people from various departments. Together, this team provided details of the rooms, collaborative workspaces, meeting places, alcoves for privacy and concentrated work as well as the working environment which they required for the future.”

The compact cubature interferes as little as possible with the existing structure, but complements it harmoniously and integrates it into a new overall concept.

Juri Troy, architectural studio

These requirements from the team were then used as specifications for an architecture competition. The winning design from Juri Troy is connected to the existing structure in two places. In a sheltered open area between the buildings, greenery helps to provide a place for rest and relaxation.

The extension blends naturally and smoothly into its surroundings. Its rhythmic wooden facade has a restrained aura with homogeneous colours and materials, while the recessed and offset sections create a feeling of expectancy.

It is this feature that keeps the new building from outshining the existing structure, which was designed by architectural firm Reinberg. “The compact cubature interferes as little as possible with the existing structure, but complements it harmoniously and integrates it into a new overall concept,” reads the project description by architectural studio Juri Troy.

Der Erweiterungsbau fügt sich natürlich und unaufgeregt in den Kontext ein. Die rhythmisch gegliederte Holzfassade nimmt sich mit ihrer farblichen und materiellen Homogenität zurück, während die Rücksprünge und Einschnitte im Volumen zugleich Spannung erzeugen. — Inside the building, the colour coordination is continued from the facade.

Thermal activation with rammed earth

For a company whose business involves pressing ahead with climate turnaround, their construction needed to have a special focus on sustainability. And this was achieved not just in the building’s energy concept but also in the choice of construction materials. While its climate-friendly operation uses ground heating and photovoltaics as renewable energy sources, a clearly structured timber skeleton design was the preferred solution for the framework.

This timber construction is not just flexible enough to adapt to future alterations, it also helps to keep a building’s carbon footprint as small as possible. Besides the timber building, a solid core made of rammed earth supplies the storage material necessary for the thermal activation system. In this kind of temperature control, the pipes that supply the water are fitted through the rammed earth and – depending on the season of the year – ensure that the rooms are either heated or cooled.

Compared to conventional radiators, this method needs much larger surfaces. It also achieves good results even with the low supply temperatures typical of geothermal energy. Thermal activation is mostly used in connection with a concrete core, and rammed earth is the most climate-friendly alternative.

The building already had a positive carbon footprint during the construction phase.

Juri Troy, architectural studio

According to the architects, this had the required effect: “The building already had a positive carbon footprint during the construction phase. The project was certified with the highest rating of 1000/1000 points according to the Climate Active Gold Standard.”

Windkraft Simonsfeld now benefits from an additional useable floor space of 1,900 square metres in this climate-positive extension. The versatility of the new structure will provide an important basis for future adaptability of the company’s headquarters. After all, sustainability is also about creating a building that can be repurposed should the occasion arise, therefore enabling it to stand the test of time.

Text: Gertraud Gerst
Translation: Rosemary Bridger-Lippe
Photos: Patrick Johannsen

Other articles
that might interest you

#architecture

A church that stores carbon

As the first church to be built in Copenhagen for 30 years, it may well become an icon. Ørestad Church is a sculptural timber construction designed by Henning Larsen. A kind of “Church 2.0”, it is also a modern community centre that reaches out to everybody regardless of their belief.

#greenbuilding

A temple for start-ups

The German city of Heilbronn is home to a remarkable timber structure. Innovation Factory 2.0 displays a new kind of aesthetics, both on the inside and outside. This sophisticated paradise for innovation displays precision craftsmanship from Switzerland.

#greenbuilding

University breaks timber construction record

Perth is home to the largest mass-engineered timber building in the southern hemisphere: the university complex named Boola Katitjin. Designed by local firm Lyons Architects with a length of 180 metres, the building used prefabricated elements sourced from Europe.

#greenbuilding

Why wood is so good for us

Wood doesn’t just improve creativity and performance, it also boosts the immune system and reduces stress. The research project HOMERA based at the Technical University of Munich has supplied extensive scientific evidence here.

#greenbuilding

A circus chooses timber construction

The new winter quarters for Circus Knie leave no doubt that a storehouse can be an attractive piece of architecture. Whereas the existing building had to be demolished after 60 years, the new timber design is expected to last much longer.

#greenbuilding

A fire station built with wood

It is a common fear that timber buildings add fuel to the fire. A town near Hamburg has a compelling response to this concern: Reinbek Fire Services have used wood for the construction of their fire station.

#greenbuilding

A lighthouse for Malmö

The city of Malmö in southern Sweden is home to the country’s tallest office building constructed entirely of timber. Named Fyrtornet, the project was designed by Swedish architects with materials and know-how from Tyrol, Austria.

#greenbuilding

Pioneering residential timber high-rise in Paris

A high-rise block resembling stacked wooden shelves has caused a stir in the French capital. Named Wood Up, this timber structure is reducing CO2 emissions by 80 percent compared to a conventional design, according to architects LAN.

#architecture

Quadrature of the circle

The Prepared Rehmannia Root Crafts Exhibition Hall celebrates an important medicinal herb used in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Luo Studio has created a shrewd design for a dome based on cost-efficient construction using standardized structural timber.

#greenbuilding

Industrial construction protects the climate

The sober practicality of metal constructions for industrial use is no longer inevitable. A different approach with rammed earth and timber for the new Weleda logistics centre has sent sustainability standards rocketing sky-high.

#greenbuilding

A natural construction kit

Office building HasleTre in Oslo was awarded the title of Norway’s “Timber Building of the Year” for good reason. With a visionary concept by Oslotre, it can be dismantled like a box of toy building bricks and is made predominantly of nature-based materials.

#greenbuilding

Timber restores industrial ruin

High-profile oat milk producer Oatly chose a dilapidated yet prominent building for its new head office: in the port of Malmö, the former foundry Gjuteriet has been transformed. The sustainable design uses plenty of wood and repurposed construction materials from the dismantled shipyard warehouses nearby.

#greenbuilding

A landmark in the Pyrenees

Sophisticated architecture is no longer a rarity in high mountain regions. Refuge de Barroude is a mountain hut designed for the Pyrenees by architects Snøhetta, setting new standards for high-altitude construction.

#architecture

A town revives its past

Preservation of the round kiln in Zell has transformed an industrial monument and breathed new life into it. The extension to the original building is a marriage of bricks, wood and red concrete – just one of the lifelong bonds that are formed here.

#greenbuilding

Series production for timber offices

ZERO. is a new modular office building in Stuttgart which uses serially manufactured wooden elements and building technology that exploits passive physical effects. This multi-tenant investor project takes a fresh approach in its sharing of spaces and services.

#greenbuilding

A sector on the upswing

It is no secret that the construction sector is one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases. With carbon pricing still in its infancy, entrepreneurs in the industry are actively pursuing how to achieve decarbonization.

#living

Building bridges at home

Five metres above the ground, a private residence straddles a channel that runs through woodland. It seems more like a suspension bridge in its approach, and this house indeed has a very similar design. Called the Bridge House, this structure by architectural studio LLAMA definitely lives up to its name.

#architecture

A modern-day nod towards heaven

Knarvik Church is a contemporary interpretation of the 1000-year-old stave churches in Norway. This award-winning sacred building designed by Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter has become a tourist attraction – and also a place that is open to all.

#greenbuilding

United by the Grand Ring

Expo 2025 in Osaka is welcoming its visitors with a structure that is in a class of its own. Architect Sou Fujimoto has designed the Grand Ring for the World Exposition. It is the world’s largest wooden architectural construction, made with glued laminated timber.

#greenbuilding

Flax and timber as hybrid pioneers

Two architectural innovations made their debut on the world stage at the Landesgartenschau in southern Germany’s Allgäu region: the self-shaping Wangen Tower made of wood and the Hybrid Flax Pavilion with robotically produced flax sections that reduced the quantity of wood needed for the structure by two thirds.

#greenbuilding

In Albert Einstein’s footsteps

The European Organization for Nuclear Research examines the structure of matter. Its latest construction is already underway: named CERN B777 and designed by Henning Larsen, the new research centre will be round and mostly made of wood.

#greenbuilding

Free-floating and functional

The TUM Campus at Munich’s Olympiapark shows how a carefully planned timber project can save resources and the associated costs. Shortlisted for the DAM Preis 2024, it was formerly Europe’s largest timber construction.

#greenbuilding

McDonald’s builds with timber

São Paulo is home to Brazil’s “most sustainable McDonald’s”. It has a timber design and is presented as an educational project for sustainable building. For the company, the wooden structure is a “recipe for the future”.

#greenbuilding

Welcome to the Ecotope

The master plan named Ecotope was chosen by renowned Swiss education and research institute EPFL to fulfil an important requirement. Green spaces will flourish instead of blanketing the ground with bleak tarmac; circular materials will replace concrete and steel.

#greenbuilding

Timber as a technology showcase

A new entrance building has been designed for the Deutsches Technikmuseum in Berlin. With its striking lattice roof, the design by Austrian architectural firm Innauer Matt demonstrates that modern timber construction is a byword for progress through sustainability.

#greenbuilding

Where sheep graze on an urban ‘hillside’

The new Raiffeisen Landesbank Kärnten building is a transparent timber construction with room for sheep on its roof. In this interview, querkraft architect Jakob Dunkl talks about the design and also the connection between sustainability and love.

#greenbuilding

University enters the green building revolution

The Marga Klompé Building at Tilburg University is the first academic building in the Netherlands to be built out of wood. Insulation made from recycled denim jeans is part of the circular design by Powerhouse Company.

#greenbuilding

On track for transformation

Industrial wastelands need new strategies to present workable options for re-use. The architects at Smartvoll are experts in this kind of development. One of their designs is an ecosystem for the former railway depot in Amstetten, Lower Austria, as living space for plants, animals and people.

#architecture

When the school bell rings

Its roof looks like three pyramids atop a space of celebratory grandeur, a wooden construction reminiscent of timber-framed buildings. This is precisely what the architects at Maccreanor Lavington had in mind for the new dining hall at Ibstock Place School.

#greenbuilding

More timber construction for Munich

Following completion of Germany’s largest timber housing development in Munich, the city’s first timber hybrid office complexes are now being built. Developed by Accumulata, these projects will offer sustainable workplaces for the future and also construction materials that remain in the loop.