Sustainable Architecture In Vorarlberg

The successful combination of a regional building style of sophisticated simplicity with sustainable construction methods has made the architecture of Vorarlberg (Austria) a model for the rest of the world. This book presents particularly successful projects from recent years involving various building types and portrays their development from design idea to built detail. The documented structures by Cukrowicz Nachbaur, Christian Lenz, Oskar Leo Kaufmann + Albert Rüf, Hermann Kaufmann, Dietrich Untertrifaller, Baumschlager Eberle, Marte.Marte, and Martin Rauch place the focus on their energy strategy and formally ambitious construction methods. All of the plans and detail drawings were specially prepared for the book, which makes it easy to compare the projects.

Since the mid-1980s, and in particular the 1992 environmental summit in Rio de Janeiro, sustainability has become a global issue and the subject of international debate. In the context of architecture sustainability implies the use of intelligent technology, innovative construction methods, ecologically friendly materials and use of environmentally-friendly energy resources. This book begins with an overview of the various approaches and developments in sustainable architecture, followed by an in-depth section on urbanism looking at several European towns. In the third section the technologies, materials and methods of ecological architecture are examined. Concluding the volume are 23 sophisticated and innovative European case studies. The author and architect Dominique Gauzin-Müller has specialised on energy and environmental issues and ecological architecture for over 15 years.

"Holistic Housing. Concepts, Design Strategies and Processes" is a fundamental reference work on housing construction. The book deals with the issue of sustainability in a planning context but also analyses a building's usage and ageing over its 'life cycle'. A system of criteria specially developed in an accompanying research project can be used to compare and evaluate buildings. It can also be used as a tool for optimising the sustainability of buildings in development during the planning process. By contrast, most existing sustainability systems are conceived not as design and planning tools, but as instruments for evaluating finished buildings and completed planning. 15 practical examples explain the ways in which these criteria and other aspects of sustainable building can be implemented in sophisticated architecture and how these can then be experienced. A system developed from analysing the examples is used to classify and compare the buildings. The building's significance as a lived environment is also not neglected here: sustainability develops in a dialogue between a building and its users, with an emphasis on residential usage.

The concept of sustainability stands at the center of efforts to develop an architecture capable of meeting the challenges of the future. In urban structures as well as in design and the details of execution, sustainable architecture demands a value-preserving, resource-friendly approach to materials and construction. It was in large part in order to do justice to this development that in 2007, the Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine and Jana Revedin created the international Global Award for Sustainable Architecture, which honors architects who have specifically excelled in the area of sustainability. This book documents the work of the prizewinners for 2007 and 2008. A first section introduces the work and thought of each architect, while a second takes an in-depth look at two or three projects that illustrate their distinctive approach. The 2007 prizewinners are Stefan Behnisch, Germany; Balkrishna Doshi, India; Françoise-Hélène Jourda, France; Hermann Kaufmann, Austria; and Wang Shu, China. For 2008, the honorees are Fabrizio Carola, Italy/Mali; Philippe Samyn, Belgium; Carin Smuts, South Africa; Andrew Freear and his Rural Studio, USA; and Alejandro Aravena for Elemental, Chile. Das Konzept der Nachhaltigkeit steht im Mittelpunkt der Entwicklung einer zukunftsfähigen Architektur. In urbanen Strukturen ebenso wie in Entwurf und Detail der Ausführung ist der werterhaltende, ressourcenschonende Umgang mit Material und Konstruktion gefordert. Nicht zuletzt um dieser Entwicklung gerecht zu werden, initiierte die Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine und Jana Revedin im Jahre 2007 erstmals den internationalen Global Award for Sustainable Architecture, der Architekten prämiert, die sich durch einen besonderen nachhaltigen Ansatz auszeichnen. Das Buch dokumentiert das Schaffen der Prämierten der Jahre 2007 und 2008. Ein erster Teil führt jeweils in die Arbeit und das Denken des Architekten ein, ein zweiter Teil präsentiert ausführlich zwei bis drei Projekte, die den jeweiligen Ansatz illustrieren. Die Prämierten des Jahres 2007 sind Stefan Behnisch, Deutschland, Balkrishna Doshi, Indien, Françoise-Hélène Jourda, Frankreich, Hermann Kaufmann, Österreich und Wang Shu, China; die Gewinner des Jahres 2008 sind Fabrizio Carola, Italien/Mali, Philippe Samyn, Belgien, Carin Smuts, Südafrika, Andrew Freear und sein Rural Studio, USA und Alejandro Aravena für Elemental, Chile.

In Vorarlberg, you can find a 610,000-cubic-metre volume of pine, spruce and hardwood that has made the region renowned for its exemplary tradition of timber construction. Vorarlberg has been setting standards worldwide in the architectural design and hand-crafted quality of wooden buildings. Their use of wood is characterised by an inspired innovative creativity. Projects from Vorarlberg are bold: multiple storeys, prefabrication, urban housing, industrial buildings are all matters of course and reveal an impressively wide-ranging vision of "traditional" timber construction.

The architecture of Vorarlberg is documented for the future in a new publication in three languages and is thus anchored in the international discourse. The book "Constructive Provocation New Building in Vorarlberg" not only describes the development of a unique phenomenon but also directs its gaze towards the future and explores ways in which the successful "Vorarlberg model" can develop further. The book accompanying the exhibition was conceived by Reinhard Gassner together with Otto Kapfinger and Wolfgang Ritsch. In his illustrated essay Nikolaus Walter allows us insights into life in Vorarlberg, the photographs by Ignacio Martínez introduce selected representative building ensembles as "spaces of a new architecture". Nora Vorderwinkler describes in a brief excursus the backgrounds of Professor Franz Bertel and the "Baukünstler" Hans Purin, two of the precursors of new building in Vorarlberg. In an appendix diagrams and graphics present a picture of Vorarlberg in facts and figures. Information on related literature and links to network partners in the areas of architecture and the quality of living space in Vorarlberg help complete the picture

The successful combination of a regional building style of sophisticated simplicity with sustainable construction methods has made the architecture of Vorarlberg a model for the rest of the world. This book presents projects of various building types with a focus on energy strategy and construction. All drawings were specially prepared.

How is an energy efficient building created? Which are the most important criteria pertaining to urban development or the conception of the floor plan? What are the optimal dimensions appropriate for the building’s usage but also ensuring energy efficiency? Which building elements and systems are most suitable? This book systematically explains all relevant criteria and parameters as regards urban development, design and the subsequent construction of a sustainable building. The immense potential for cutting costs by modernising the energy systems in old buildings is also demonstrated.Completed projects are presented according to their usage and are analysed and evaluated in the light of the above criteria. For this purpose extensive plans and technical information are used to illustrate the "energy profile" of each building. This shows the particular importance of planning details carefully. An annotated subject index concludes the volume.