The first residents recently moved into the “Woody-M”, one of Vienna’s flagship projects in timber housing. 2,300 m³ of local wood were used for the construction of the four solid wood houses, each five storey high – prefabricated by the East Tyrolean family company Theurl, glued with around 11 tons of Loctite from Henkel. In general, timber construction is currently experiencing a boom.
Woody-M: Glued solid wood panels
A total of 830 individual wooden components made of CLTPLUS (Cross Laminated Timber, note) are in the ceilings and walls of “Woody-M”. They all come from the aforementioned East Tyrolean family company Theurl and were prefabricated in their factory in Steinfeld. “Here you can produce precisely, on the construction site the parts are then only put together. This saves time and reduces the error rate,” explains Christian Wolsegger, Sales Manager at Theurl. The multi-layer solid wood panels are held together in the “Woody-M” by 11 tons of 1-component polyurethane adhesive Loctite HB-S. “This adhesive is formaldehyde-free and can be applied very quickly, cleanly and with pinpoint accuracy at room temperature,” explains Philipp Timmel, sales representative for construction adhesives at Henkel in Austria.
© Henkel
Sustainable construction
Timber construction is currently experiencing a boom because, compared to steel and concrete, it is a natural and renewable resource and causes fewer CO2 emissions. The idea of recycling also plays an important role, as parts of the building can be reused or thermally recycled after use. “Today’s buildings are constructed in such a way that the parts can be dismantled and processed again after use. Large floor or wall elements are reused as building products, for example, or furniture or chipboard is made from them. Ultimately, wood can be thermally recycled after use, this is referred to as a cyclical timber industry,” explains Christoph Sturmlechner, Business Development Manager Engineered Wood for Austria at Henkel. Timber construction now accounts for around 25 percent of the entire construction industry. There is still a long way to go, after all around 40 percent of all CO2 emissions worldwide are caused by the construction sector.
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