With the need for a new carpentry workshop and general space for studetns, this private school turned to ISOVER for its insulation expertise and products. A challenging project working with a 100% timber frame, this is just one of ISOVER's successes in the education world. This project featured in the ISOVER Energy Efficiency Awards 2009.
The project involved the enlargement of a private school to create a new carpentry workshop and additional space for the students. The contractor chose to use a multi-storey timber frame construction in order to demonstrate the feasibility of this technique. This presented a number of key challenges: current standards concerning timber construction had to be respected; and to reach the required Minergie standard, low energy consumption, controlled ventilation, fire protection and high standards of acoustic insulation would be needed. Furthermore, the building had to be designed for disabled access as well as to allow access for cars to the carpentry workshop. With five-storey timber frame construction rare in Switzerland, this innovative project called for close cooperation between the architects, timber engineers and timber frame builders. The resulting building is 46 m long by 20 m wide and 20 m high, with sufficient individual storey height to allow creativity in the use and development of space on the different levels. Special attention has been paid throughout to acoustic insulation, which is crucial in a school building of this type. With timber construction previously associated in most people’s minds with 'chalet' style construction, the project has been hailed for its innovation and advanced design.