7/22/2010

The new wonders of wood: High flying plans for all-wood high rises

Bavaria’s most revolutionary building is located in Bad Aibling. What’s revolutionary about the building: it’s made out of wood. That would seem a non sequitur in a state that has more woods (forests cover 36.3% of Bavaria’s surface) and wood buildings (17% of state total) than any other in Germany.
Revolutionary about the building is its height – seven floors – and the extent of its use of wood. In contrast to conventional structures, the building, which is located in this eastern Bavarian town’s clean energy development, does without steel or concrete support.

Also revolutionary was the building’s speed of assembly. It took only four days for the eastern Bavarian firm of Huber & Sohn to put it together. As of this writing, the building’s interior is being finished. The whole project in Bad Aibling includes besides this big building with seven floors some smaller ones.
According to the company developing the community, the construction of the all-wood building has paved the way for one of 7 stories, with ones up to 20 stories high now being planned.

Good news for Bavaria’s forestry industry and for the world’s environment. The industry is one of the state’s big-ticket sectors, employing 200,000 persons and registering annual sales of €30 billion.
The environment profits from wood’s binding of carbon dioxide, and from its comparative advantages (in terms of resource consumption) over concrete.

These high-flying projects for all-wood high-rises are based upon the technologies developed by researchers working in Bavaria’s institutes. These have ensured that wood has the requisite fire-resistance, carrying capability and long-term durability.

The researchers include Dr. Gerd Wegener, head of wood research at Munich’s Technical University, and speaker of Bavaria’s Forestry and Wood Cluster. Other centers of research are the universities of applied sciences at Weihenstephan and Rosenheim.

Source: Invest in Bavaria

For more information about establishing a location in the State of Bavaria, please contact Jan Danisman, phone: 212-317-0588 or email: info(AT)bavaria.org.