Pressroom

An ecologically and economically sustainably designed production and retail facility opened recently in Pians in Tyrol. And the building attracted widespread attention during its construction phase because the ATP-led integrated digital design process (with BIM) also enabled something very special to be achieved – the world’s largest column-supported cross-laminated timber slab.

The complex – which consists of a production facility for meat and sausage specialties that meets the very latest hygiene standards and has a silvery high-tech aluminum façade, and an administration, retail, and gastronomic wing, whose reinterpretation of the “Handl Speckalm” uses state-of-the art timber construction methods – is impressively inserted into the narrow valley at Pians.
The tricky task of optically and functionally integrating the wide range of uses on the strongly sloping site was resolved by an intelligent arrangement of the various levels.
92 % of the annual heating needs and 25 % of the entire electricity needs are met by the energy-efficient building itself. The proportion of daylight in the offices was maximized, offering employees and clients spectacular views of the Tyrolean mountain panorama.

In line with the client’s wishes, the natural raw material timber is visible and experienceable throughout the offices and gastronomic areas. A 650-m² flat wooden slab, which requires neither upstand nor downstand beams and is supported by a minimum number of columns, permits the effect of the smooth timber ceiling that covers the entire retail and gastronomy area. This is possible due to a special adhesive technique and an innovative system of connectors developed by the University of Innsbruck and Rothoblaas. The complex is the first project worldwide, in which these special connectors between the slab and the columns were used.