Timber social housing building in Upper Austria region

During the World Sustainable Energy Days 2018, OÖ Energiesparverband, together with its partners, organized a visit to this 6-storey residential building. This innovative and high energy-efficient timber construction is built on the grounds of the Dragon Acres in Wels, Austria. Its heat demand is of 27kWh/m²a for a total of 63 subsidized rental apartments of 50-60m² each.

Planned by the architects Luger & Maul and promoted by WAG Wohnungsanlagen Ges.mbH, the building was made almost entirely of wood by Obermayr Holzkonstruktionen. About 1,800m³ of wood were used for its construction. In addition to the facade made of fir wood, wood-aluminium windows, wooden ceilings, wooden beams and supports, as well as wooden floors, provide the residents with a special feeling of well-being. The optimal orientation of the building permits the use of a combination of cross ventilation and individual room ventilation systems. It is heated with district heating.

The total project costs amounted to around 10.2 million euros (gross building area 2,747 m²). These are the same costs as those of conventionally built buildings and below the threshold for construction costs for social housing in Upper Austria. In other words, the project could be built within the cost limit of the Upper Austrian housing promotion. This project shows that ecological building with wood with high environmental standards is also possible in affordable social housing.