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Forward-thinking architects, school boards and city planners are increasingly choosing sustainable mass timber wood products to build or extend educational facilities.
They are specifying premanufactured wood products not just because they are so long-lasting and can accommodate short construction timelines to assemble during the school holidays, but for a host of additional well-being benefits for the children. In the province of Salzburg, Austria, around 80% of newly built schools and kindergartens are constructed with sustainable mass timber products.
In 2020, an extension with a further four groups, including exercise rooms, was added to the four-group kindergarten planned and built by architect Fritz Lorenz (with Christian Schmirl) built between 1994 and 1996.
The existing building, which sits on the edge of the slope, continues to serve as the entrance and access point for the kindergarten, which now has eight groups.
The new building, in the form of an oblong two-storey structure, continues the type, scale and storeys of the existing building and forms an angular overall figure with it.
The 'joint' between old and new functions as a transparent, cross-storey communication zone and provides access to the large existing garden with its beautiful trees.
All group and activity rooms are orientated towards this high-quality open space with a terrace and balcony zone in front. Views in, out and through provide natural lighting on several sides and a differentiated spatial experience.
The most striking difference between the existing building and the extension is the use of materials. The new wing is made with mass timber. In the construction and room configuration, particular attention was paid to the scale from the perspective of small children.
This is an excellent example of how a Sylva kit can facilitate an extension in just seven months, immediately adding much-needed childcare space to a small community.
Featured in ECHO Salzburg magazine pages
(Text: Based on a text by the architects)
| Area (m²) | 866 |
| Storeys | 2 |
| Products and Services | Sylva™ CLT Floors and Roofs, Sylva™ CLT Walls |
| Product quality | NVI and VI |
| Product volume (m³) | 689 |
| Number of deliveries | 2 |
| Developer | Municipality of Wals-Siezenheim |
| Architect | Dunkelschwarz ZT GMBH, Arch Di Hannes Sampl, Erhard Steiner, Michael Hocketstaller |
| Structural Engineer | Josef Koppelhuber |
| Main contractor |
SABAG GmbH InnovaHolz |
| Construction duration (months) | 6 |