It has become quite the tradition in the Tyrol to award the most outstanding wood building designs in a grand ceremony every four years. This year it took place on the 29th of March, with 300 interested attending the unveiling of the winners.
The highly decorated jury, led by renowned architect and professor at TU Munich, Stephan Birk, decided upon the winners not only considering innovative designs and constructions but foremost the building’s sustainability as well as the mindful use of the regrowing yet highly precious material, wood. In a statement preceding the award ceremony he mentioned: “There is still room for more multi-storey wood buildings in the Tyrol. To build in wood, is the future.”
Of the 158 entries, only 6 were given the much-sought after prize and some of them represent a perfect example of the Build-in-Wood EU Project’s ideals of making multi-storey wood buildings the norm of the future.
Two awards went Nordic
Amongst the awarded buildings was the expansion of the main station at Växjo, Sweden, which also serves as the city hall. With the outside of the building being mostly made of glass, the interior shows an intricate wooden design, which provides the visitors with a clean and well-structured experience.
Another example of companies in the Tyrol exporting their wood construction expertise is the habitat complex Vindmollebakken in Stavanger, Norway. The combination of common-use areas with living quarters gives us a fascinating and innovative glimpse of the possible future in urban construction. Four town houses feature eight flats, and some 40 living communities are arranged around an inner courtyard. Everything is made of wood, while great care was taken to ensure that the available space is be used to its maximum.
Innovative office space near Innsbruck
Aside from several exports, local projects were of course at the forefront of the award ceremony. While several “add-ons” and “conversions” to existing buildings, built in wood, were honoured, two newly designed projects were amongst the winners.
A new office building for ASI Reisen in Natters near Innsbruck, Tyrol made it, due to its focus on the symbiosis of nature and human, depicting the company’s main business model. A green façade perfectly integrates with the building’s interior wooden appearance and open workspaces.
The future of sustainable vacation homes
The combination of traditional appearance and progressive use of the construction material “wood” gave the apartment building “Anna Katharina” in Fieberbrunn, Tyrol, the necessary edge over the other contenders. A well thought through, sustainable use of construction material locally grown and worked upon in the very valley the building was erected rendered this project exceptional and worthy in the eyes of the critical jury.
This year’s award ceremony was once more successful in not only expressing the ever-expanding interest in the construction material wood per se, but also in ensuring that exceptional designs and the people behind these projects were given their well-earned attention.
Altogether there were 158 entries, out of which 34 were nominated. In the end only six were given an award alongside another six honourable mentions.
for more information: https://auszeichnungen.proholz-tirol.at/archivs/holzbaupreis-tirol-2023/
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