AlpBC - Alphouse Center Traunstein
Basic information
Project Title
Full project title
Category
Project Description
The Alphouse Center Traunstein is a center for expertise on Alpine building culture. It consists of a pool of experts for regional traditional building techniques and materials as well as regional architecture, who share and transfer their knowledge to SMEs and citizens in the region. It was established along with other Alphouse Centers and Contact points in Salzburg, South Tyrol, Vorarlberg and Aosta Valley in the framework of the Interreg project AlpBC.
Project Region
EU Programme or fund
Which funds
Other Funds
The Alphouse Centers were developed in the framework of the project "AlpBC - Capitalising knowledge on Alpine Building Culture by performing regional smart planning and consultancy strategies for sustainable development and closed loop economies" funded by the Alpine Space program from 2012-2015 under the priority axis: Priority 1: Competitiveness and attractiveness of the Alpine Space.
Description of the project
Summary
In the framework of the AlpBC project, which major objective was to foster the knowledge and know-how transfer of Alpine building culture to regional planning and counseling for regional closed-loop economies, so-called Alphouse Centers and Contact points were conceptualized and established in the participating project regions (Upper Bavaria, Aosta Valley, South Tyrol, Salzburg and Vorarlberg). Their main intention was to disseminate knowledge and share experience in the field of Alpine building culture and sustainable renovation of vernacular buildings.
All AlpHouse Centers (AHCs) and contact (AHCPs) points consisted in a pool of experts for traditional building culture, techniques, materials and sustainable/ energetic construction and renovation, who collaborated closely with research centers and universities on different projects, so the latest research results and innovations could be integrated into the information and consulting offer. The services provided by the Alphouse Centers/ Contact points to planners, architects and citizens were: 1) Information and consulting, 2) Coordinating the interfaces and expertise available in the region (networking), 3) Further vocational education and training of craftsmen, architects and planners, 4) Organisation of public participative events.
All AHCs and AHCPs also cooperated cross-regionally by regular exchange of experts (study visits), joint participative symposia and meetings.
Among all AHCs, AHC Traunstein played a prominent role, since it coordinated all cross-regional network activities. AHC Traunstein also stood out from the other AHCs since a thorough feasibility study and concept was elaborated for a physical information and education center/ knowledge hub and place to meet for planners, craftsmen, architects and citizens, which was supposed to be realized in the city of Traunstein and which can still be transferred to other cities and regions.
Key objectives for sustainability
The key objective of the Alphouse Centers in terms of sustainability was to increase the competence levels of regional planners, architects and SMEs by sharing state-of-the-art knowledge in energetic renovation and at the same time preserving the existing vernacular architecture and building stock, one of the main assets of the Alpine Space.
Consequently, all Alphouse Centers placed their main emphasis in their consulting portfolio on sustainable construction in harmony with traditional Alpine building culture, construction materials and techniques.
AHC Traunstein specialised in coordinating the regionally available information and consulting offers in the field of energetic renovation of traditional Alpine buildings.
AHC Salzburg offered consulting and information to planners and architects on energy storage in building masses.
AHC South Tyrol focussed on innovation transfer between SMEs and research institutes with regard to ecologic and sustainable construction.
AHC Vorarlberg provided consulting and planning for public zero-energy buildings.
AHC Aosta Valley specialised in improving the energy efficiency of vernacular buildings.
Key objectives for aesthetics and quality
Alpine territories face similar challenges while being able to capitalise on similar assets. One of the main current challenges are climate and demographic change, ongoing urban sprawl and decay of buildings/ villages as well as the need for new energy policies. Among the assets, the distinct building cultures of the Alpine territories with their building stock and alignment to landscape are of outstanding importance, forming a unique natural and cultural capital. Valorising and preserving this capital can generate business for local SMEs, create jobs, and increase attractiveness of the regions while being in line with their cultural identity. Thus capitalising on the territorial building culture by strategically using and developing particular territorial resources/structures can enable Alpine regions to successfully cope with the abovementioned challenges.
Our project's key objective in terms of aesthetics and quality of experience beyond functionality was the dedicated preservation of one of the main assets of the Alpine regions, their vernacular architecture, which is perfectly embedded into the landscape and part of the cultural identity of the regions. Since most of those traditional buildings do not meet nowadays' expectations of citizens how they want to live and would require energetic renovation, the challenge is to develop individual solutions for preserving the building stock and at the same time create modern, ecologic and attractive living space according to the high requirements regarding energy efficiency and sustainability of today.
The Alphouse Centers bridged the gap between innovative, state-of-the-art renovation and construction and traditional Alpine construction and architecture and shared their interdisciplinary know-how with planners, architects and citizens, which fostered the achievement of the project objectives.
Key objectives for inclusion
The aspect of inclusion is an important part of sustainable renovation of Alpine buildings and the information and consulting in this regard is integrated into the information and consulting offer provided by the Alphouse Centers.
Sustainable renovation as it was seen in our AlpBC project involves equally 1) the preservation of the beauty of the vernacular architecture, 2) the reduction of the energy consumption of the buildings, 3) the renovation according to nowadays expectations on living space and aesthetics as well as 4) the consideration of the principles of barrier free construction making the vernacular architecture accessible and usable for everybody, including the elderly and handicapped.
Results in relation to category
The Alphouse Centers and Alphouse Contact points as reinvented space to meet and share, particularly the AHC Traunstein, achieved the following impact:
- The information and consulting offers provided by planners and architects in the region (Traunstein) with regard to sustainable, inclusive and energetic renovation of traditional Alpine buildings was synthesized within the Alphouse Centers, which served as central information/ consulting hub for those subjects.
- Moreover, the knowledge of planners and architects was successfully complemented by the extensive experience of craftsmen about vernacular architecture, the advantages and particularities of regional building materials and techniques that was build up and passed on since generations from one master craftsman to the other.
- Awareness was raised among the citizens for the unique cultural capital and high potential that the vernacular architecture represents in their regions for economy, tourism etc. and how it can be preserved and further valorized by sustainable renovation in view of aesthetics, ecology and inclusion.
- Interaction between planners, architects and citizens was increased resulting in higher level of knowledge and competence for Alpine building culture in the region
How Citizens benefit
In the course of the AlpBC project all stakeholders were involved into the process of developing the concept for the Alphouse Center Traunstein.
At the level of the planning entities, the project organized municipality dialogues involving 12 municipalities and 82 participants in the area of. During this event, we discussed the requirements on information and consulting services regarding the sustainable energetic renovation of the vernacular building stock with the planning entities. Moreover, we gathered ideas for additional services and activities that could be provided by the AHC Traunstein.
In order to involve regional craftsmen and architects we invited the district guild to two workshops in which altogether more than 60 craftsmen and architects from the area of Traunstein participated. In the first workshop we presented and jointly discussed the idea of the AHC and the possible service portfolio as well as the meeting and exchange possibilities it should offer. As the concept evolved we invited the craftsmen to a second workshop, which was organized in the "world café" format in order to get the opinion and input on the first draft of the AHC concept.
In order to bring the feasibility study forward and develop a sound concept for a physical realization of an Alphouse Center building in Traunstein, we collaborated with the university of Liechtenstein and invited their students of architecture to a workshop in Traunstein where they learned everything about the intended location for the Alphouse Center and its purpose and objectives. On that basis the students designed very creative and innovative buildings and presented their models and plans a few months later at a special event in Liechtenstein. Also the city of Traunstein, who was interested in developing an unused property close to the train station of Traunstein expressed high interest in the Alphouse Center feasibility study and concept and thus was invited to this presentation
Innovative character
The innovation of the AlpBC project in general and of the Alphouse Center concept in particular lies in the holistic approach to a number of important challenges of the Alpine Space and its vernacular architecture.
The Alphouse Centers and Contact Points represent places where stakeholders in sustainable renovation of traditional Alpine buildings can meet, enhance their competences and knowledge, by mutual exchange or participating in vocational education offers related to Alpine building culture, regional building materials and techniques.
They also represent a place in which architects, craftsmen and citizens are brought together to develop new business related to the sustainable energetic and inclusive renovation. Thus the Alphouse Centers even support regional closed-loop economies since competences, services and materials used in this context all originate from the region.
Moreover, the Alphouse Centers raised awareness at the level of the municipalities, planning entities as well as general public of the cultural capital of the vernacular architecture and its touristic and thus economic value.
