Wood as far as the eye can see: Covering 1,537m2, the newly-built extension of the Binderholz site in Hallein stretches over four floors. Its interior walls and ceilings are also made from wood. The extension accommodates numerous modern offices, one large seminar room and several meeting rooms.
One single material was used for the supporting structure of the building shell: Binderholz BBS Thermo 9-layer cross-laminated timber. The green benefit: From raw material to finished product, Binderholz exclusively uses wood from sustainable forestry. Having no insulation attached, the 23.4cm external wall elements theoretically fail the required U-value. However, with the help of a few examples, it was scientifically proven that this construction method is highly efficient and sustainable. Evidence is provided by around 100 measuring sensors which analyse the temperature and humidity curves in the individual wall layers, the heat flow in the wall structure, the interior surface temperature and air flow, the room air quality and wood emissions in the new office building.
Efficient heating and cooling
One of the biggest challenges of the building project was the choice of the optimum heating and cooling system. The building owner preferred an ecological and energy-saving complete system. On top of this, the system should involve no radiators or visible heating or cooling panels.
All of these requests were met by Variotherm Modular Ceilings with integrated aluminium multi-layer composite pipes. Thanks to the thermal radiation exchange, they provide a comfortable room climate both in winter and in summer, do not cause dust swirls, are energy efficient, make no noise and can therefore also run at night. To further reduce the airborne sound exposure in the office and meeting rooms, the building owner decided in favour of the sound-absorbing version of the Modular Ceiling-Acoustic.
In summary: The extension is a beautiful new building that offers numerous staff members more space and a comfortable working environment.
Variotherm products:
526 m² Variotherm Modular Ceiling for cooling and heating
Photocredits: Binderholz