LifeCycle Tower One

We are looking at the tallest wooden building in the world, 8 storeys high and located in Dornbirn, Austria. Moreover, this office tower designed by CREE (Creative Renewable Energy and Efficiency) incorporates the latest solutions in energy efficiency and sustainability.

The building uses wood as the primary structural support and is designed in accordance to the Passivhaus standard. Another of its key features is that it incorporates prefabricated building modules, which have halved traditional construction time. The glass and concrete façade is designed to minimize thermal bridges. It integrates a photovoltaic construction system (BIPV), solar panels and a double glass curtain. In addition, facilities such as an efficient biomass boiler and passive cooling - thanks to the opening of the building’s windows - have also been included. All these innovative ideas were incorporated by the architect Rhomberg Bau, who developed the project, along with an interdisciplinary research team (architecture, construction, building, and static physics), within the framework of the program “Factory of Tomorrow”. The authors of this project can boast having achieved a outstandingly efficient building, with a very satisfactory emissions balance regarding the materials used.

As a building material, wood has been widely used throughout history. However, it is now experiencing a moment of splendour, as it has proven its durability. In addition, it is a renewable material that causes much less CO2 emissions than other types of materials used in building. Rhomberg’s team is now studying the possibility of using wood in buildings up to 30 storeys high.

The 2,500 square metres used for offices rest under a roof isolated with URSA PUREONE SF 32, 16 cm thick. This material is indicated for the insulation of wood structures, roofs, interior partition walls and ceilings.