LifeCycle Tower with is awarded a nomination
LifeCycle Tower research project was honoured yesterday in Vienna with a nomination for the state prize for environmental and energy technology. The jury awarded the interdisciplinary team in the joint venture, called Rhomberg Bau, the nomination yesterday. It was presented by BMVIT General Secretary Herbert Kasser to the managing director Hubert Rhomberg and project manager Michael Zangerl of Rhomberg Bau at the Palais Ferstl. The joint venture LifeCycle consists of an interdisciplinary team including Vorarlberg architect Hermann Kaufmann, the international engineering firm Arup from Berlin, the Austrian timber construction company Wiehag and the Technical University of Graz.
Lighthouse project for sustainable building
Sustainability of resources and climate issues are putting wood in the spotlight of the construction industry again. The aim of the project is the development of a wooden modular system for multi-storey wooden buildings up to 20 floors. The previous record was only a building with nine storeys in London and this project aims to far surpass this. The LifeCycle Tower is an independent product that fulfils all requirements for fire protection, acoustics and load bearing. The most important features are the lower lifecycle costs, the reduction of the dependency on raw materials and the more favourable CO2 balance. The wooden high-rise is also supposed to produce energy. The energy design is therefore oriented towards a positive energy house. A further advantage is the 50 percent reduction in construction time, which also has a positive effect on the energy balance due to a lower traffic volume.
“The LifeCycle Tower is pioneering work in sustainability for all partners involved in the project,” says Michael Zangerl, Project Manager LifeCycle Tower. “The nomination for the State Prize is another confirmation for us that we have achieved our goal, and have been able to develop a future-oriented system for timber construction in urban areas.”
Worldwide market is the objective
Today, Austria is a pioneer in modern timber construction and energy-efficient building technology. The LifeCycle Tower as a sustainable wooden high-rise building, that generates more energy than consumed, is unique in the world and places the Austrian engineering services and products on the international market. The LifeCycle Tower therefore represents a tremendous economic opportunity for the entire Austrian timber construction industry, as well as for all component manufacturers such as plumbing, solar planners and ventilation manufacturers.
Managing Director Hubert Rhomberg is convinced that the realization of the LifeCycle Tower as a global lighthouse project has a positive impact: “The system construction means it has global use, one utilises regional resources possible. This will also benefit small and medium-sized enterprises.” The recognition helps to publicise the project to the wider public and simultaneously, confirms the path taken by Rhomberg Bau.
State Prize for Environmental and Energy Technology 2010
The Austrian Prize for Environmental and Energy Technology 2010 is published in the categories of Environment & Climate, Energy & Efficiency, and Research & Innovation. The award and sponsorship of the award this year was by the Ministry of Technology (BMVIT), the Ministry of Economic Affairs (BMWFJ) and the Ministry of Life (BMLFUW).