Does your next building project involve an educational facility? Or is your school district considering expanding? If so, you might want to take a leaf from this Austrian kindergarten's book.

Bad St. Leonhard, located in the picturesque Lavanttal Valley, is a municipality facing the common challenge of accommodating a growing population. The need to renovate the existing kindergarten was pressing, but the project required a significant investment. It was crucial to create a space that was not only durable and long-lasting but also healthy for the children. Environmental considerations were paramount, with a focus on minimizing carbon emissions and reducing construction noise and pollution.

Specifications

The project had to be completed over the summer to ensure that working families, many of whom do shift work in the area, could continue to access this vital community resource. The developers chose to use a Sylva™ by Stora Enso, a sustainable mass timber solution, to take advantage of faster and more efficient off-site prefabrication.

Timeline

Construction began in April 2023, and the new building was opened by September of the same year.

By applying Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA) principles, the kindergarten extension was essentially able to preorder a made-to-measure, ready-to-build kit.

This approach provided the same efficiency and speed as modern-day products like manufactured shoes, while still allowing the architect to create a site-specific and unique structure tailored to the community's needs. High load-bearing and long-spanning eight-meter Sylva CLT Rib Floors enabled the creation of large multipurpose rooms that could be sectioned off for smaller group activities and learning sessions. Prefabricated Sylva CLT walls facilitated a seamless connection between the old and new buildings.

The architect behind this innovative project ensured that the design met the specific needs of the community while maintaining high-end quality built to last. The Sylva kit proved to be an ideal solution for educational facilities that must consider future generations.

In Austria, over 80% of new educational facilities are now constructed with mass timber, reflecting a broader trend. Globally, the popularity of building with wood is on the rise, with the number of mass timber buildings expected to double every two years through 2034.

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