Wood in Architecture and Construction - Assignment 3 - Wood facade -Yaqi Liao (1/3)
Community centre St. Gerold, AT 2009
Architects:
Cukrowicz Nachbaur Architekten, Bregenz Andreas Cukrowicz, Anton
Nachbaur-Sturm
Structural engineers:
M+G Ingenieure, Feldkirch
Community centre St. Gerold is located on a steep southern slope above the church in the Great Waslser Valley. A high retaining wall along the
road forms a forecourt from which two storeys of the building can be seen. This special location led to the variation in dierent types of materials
and structures: skeleton timber construction with solid wood, and concrete structure attached to the site.
The project is also a model of environmentally conscious construction in which the materials come from the forests of the Great Walser Valley and
was processed by local carpenters. The whole building used solid wood without any glued timber materials. The exterior wall was a double layer of
insulation one parallel to structural parts and the outer layer covers the ceiling edges.
Figure 3: Site Plan
Figure 4: Section and Floor Plan
Source: All images credit to: Hermann Kaufmann, Krötsch Stefan, and Stefan Winter, Manual of Multi-Storey Timber Construction (Munich: Detail Business Information, 2018), 232-235.
https://miesarch.com/work/2858
https://www.cn-architekten.at/en/projekt/st-gerold-community-center
Figure 1: West Facade
Figure 2: East Facade
Wood in Architecture and Construction - Assignment 3 - Wood facade -Yaqi Liao (2/3)
Source: Hermann Kaufmann, Krötsch Stefan, and Stefan Winter, Manual of Multi-Storey Timber Construction (Munich: Detail Business Information, 2018), 235.
Figure 5: Detailed Section of the East facade (Refer to Figure 2 and d-d in Figure 4)
Facade: Exterior Wall to Inteior
Exterior Floor
Interior Floor and Ceiling
strap oor, silver r, rough-sawn,
nailed, tongue-and-groove 27/80 –100 mm
strap oor, silver r, rough-sawn,
nailed, tongue-and-groove 27/80 –100 mm
loam building slabs；sound insulation, wood
bre 30 mm
loam building slabs；sound insulation, wood
bre 30 mm
Prefabricated element: cladding, spruce,
tongue-and-groove, diagonal 25/80 –150 mm
Prefabricated element: cladding, spruce,
tongue-and-groove, diagonal 25/80 –150 mm,
vapour barrier
36 mm triple glazing unit
Timber window, silver r, sanded smooth with
insulated triple glazing
Key detail Of the Facade:
The diagonal boarding replaced reinforcing panel
materials. The insulation of the projects is super
thick: wood bre insulation and sheep's wool were
used as insulating materials. The exterior wall panel
elements are insulated and have second insulating
layers on the outside. These all contribute to
operating energy needs, so it meets the passive-
house requirements.
The materials used for cladding is rough-sawn
silver r which come from the forests of the local
areas. Silver r rated as non-durable to perishable
regarding decay resistance, with little resistance to
insect attacks. We could see the huge dierence
from its rst built (Page 3). This is because of the
materail characteristics. and I will further clarify in the
next page.
Sources: https://www.wood-database.com/pacic-silver-r/
Substructure, battens, spruce, painted black
30/50 mm
Grate, oak, natural 30 mm
Concrete Slab
Gradient compensation, plastic pad 5 – 25 mm
Gutter
Dowel laminated timber 180 mm
Installation level
Soundproong, sheep’s wool 40 mm
Soundproong, sheep’s wool 40 mm
Gypsum breboard 15 mm
Gypsum breboard 15 mm
Acoustic insulation, sheep’s wool 30 mm
Acoustic insulation, sheep’s wool 30 mm
Ceiling, silver r, untreated 40/35 mm
laid at distance
Ceiling, silver r, untreated 40/35 mm
laid at distance
Timber window, silver r, sanded smooth
with insulated triple glazing
Cladding, battens, silver r, rough-sawn
30/50 –120 mm
Post, spruce 125/60 mm
Wood bre insulation
Thermal insulation, sheep’s wool
Interior cladding, silver r
Tongue-and-groove 20/50 –120 mm
Bitumen membrane, two-layer,
Torched 10 mm Insulation,
Foam glass 120 mm
Vapour barrier
dowel laminated timber, doweled 100 mm
Gradient formed with square timber 40 – 230
mm, lled with thermal insulation, wood bre
Wood in Architecture and Construction - Assignment 3 - Wood facade -Yaqi Liao (3/3)
What materials were used in which layers? What are their dimensions?
How were the materials attached?
Were the structural systems expressed or concealed? Where are the most important details visually? How have they been
resolved?What steps were involved in making the facade?
How will the appearance change over the years?
Where is damage likely to occur? What kind? Why?
How could the design be more durable?
How will the facade be maintained? Will parts be repainted or
replaced?
Figure 5: Building and its relation to the site
Figure 6: Facade Detail 1
Figure 7: Facade Detail 2
Figure 8: Assemble the facade
Figure 9: Changing Facade from 2009 to 2021
Detail 1
Detail 2
East Facade entrance
Prefabricated element: cladding,
spruce, tongue-and-groove,
diagonal 25/80 –150 mm
either nailed or screwed to vapour
barrier
Substructure, battens, spruce,
painted black 30/50 mm
Cladding, battens, silver r,
rough-sawn 30/50 –120 mm
250mm Wood bre insulation
300mm Sheep’s wool insulation
50mm Sheep’s wool insulation
Interior cladding, silver r, tongue-and-groove
20/50 –120 mm
I supposed battens should be
xed vertically (either nailed or
screwed) on top of the vapour
barrier to the structure.
The structure of the
house is made of solid
wood beams and walls.
Except for the lift shaft,
solid wood was the only
material used, so the
structural system was
fully expressed.
We could see how the
designer expresses
the modern timber
building with diagonal
boarding and a skeleton
construction system.
Insulation: Gently tuck the insulation into the cavities between wall studs.
Wood bre: made from waste wood, sustainable, recyclable, compostable
Sheep’s wool: thermal and acoustic insulation products made from 100%
natural sheep's wool, locally grown, sustainable
The most important details
are how to assemble all the
elements together.
Dowel laminated timber storey
slabs slits in the wall elements
which could be reassembled
or reused.
The architect collaborated with
engineer to design the process
of construction:
Support structure - Second
insulation layers- window-
facade cladding - installation
layer- Floor structure - Ceiling
After several years of exposion to the sunlight, rain and so on, the
color of the silver r changed from light yellow to grey.
1 2
3
There are three layers of the facade (from exterior to interior):
1. Exterior wall panels with an insulating layer: a homogeneous r form unit
in which every detail is implemented in wood.
These not only reduce the time on construction but also improve the
quality of each unit. However, it has high requirements for assembling.
2. Walls with window frame;
3. slab support and other support structures.
The main material used for the facade is silver r and spruce.
Silver r grain is straight, with a uniform, medium-coarse texture. It is
easy to work with both hand and machine tools. Although it always
has been seen as lower quality than spruce, its good durability and its
weather resistance make it suitable for use in environments exposed
to humidity.
Silver r is rated as non-durable to perishable regarding decay
resistance, with little resistance to insect attacks. It is obvious that it
was decayed to grey because of the sun.
There is no need for repainted or replacement, but indeed need to
check the condition of the facade regularly. Maybe can add coating
(translucent preservatives) in several years? Maybe in the future, it is
possible to paint the exterior cladding.
Exposure to the sun and water will cause problems with cracking and
decaying. There is no shading to protect the facade. which made the
situation even worse. UV radiation damage the cell structure of the
wood, so bration and colour changes happened.
We could see the cutting board ends at around 20 degrees (page
2) to guide the water away.t It seemed that the exterior surface had
been treated with a weatherproong wash/varnish.
The design is a block of timber building, and there is no shading for
the facade at all. These required more frequent checks of the wood
condition.
It seemed like the designer expected the changing colour of the
wood, which does not really damage the wood. If we want to delay
the timber weathering process we could apply a clear or coloured
coating which will require to be re-applied every few years over the
life of the timber.
