Locally grown beech wood for future-proof building

As part of the prototype planning, a four-story residential building has been designed. It includes ten compact apartments with one to three rooms, arranged around a central staircase.

The compact apartments are particularly well-suited to the developed construction method. Structural engineering and building physics were supported by specialized planners.

The building can be constructed entirely using timber panel construction with solid cross-laminated beechwood slabs sourced from local forests. The construction method is easy to adapt to other locations and similar building projects. A model tender is available for municipalities to facilitate implementation. The publication of the system as an open-source construction method is intended to promote the use of beechwood in structural timber construction in Central Europe.

The research project is developing a construction system for multi-story residential buildings that utilizes beechwood from local forests. In collaboration with regional businesses, a low-tech system is being created that enables simple production in small enterprises – from the tree to the finished building. The research findings are intended to be transferable to other projects and municipalities.

A plot of land on Dieselstraße in Ettlingen was selected for the prototype planning.