IBA TIMBER PROTOTYPE HOUSE
International Building Exhibition Thueringen

The IBA Timber Prototype House presents a new take on micro-architecture. Effectively a log cabin turned on its side, it combines the benefits of traditional low-cost timber construction with advances in computational design and fabrication technologies. The project explores a novel solid timber building system to economically create environmentally sound, architecturally expressive, mono-material building envelopes. In contrast to the horizontal stacking of typical log construction, here the solid timber elements are arranged as staggered upright frames. Thus the vertical elements are oriented in the strong direction of the wood which allows for sawing slits in the solid timber without comprising its structural capacity. These thin slits serve as stress-relief cuts, which prevent the solid timber from splitting. This ensures dimensional stability and airtightness, both significant issues in traditional log construction. At the same time, the slits are utilized as dead-air chambers, reducing thermal conductivity and increasing the insulation values of the material. Digital fabrication is employed to produce high-precision, airtight joints for connecting the timber elements without the need for any metal fasteners or adhesives. The resulting, highly sustainable mono-material building system acts as structure, enclosure and insulation, achieving compliance with stringent German energy saving standards. The fully integrated computational design and fabrication approach allows for gently twisting and curving walls and ceilings. They not only offer the possibility to maximize the ratio between available space and envelope surface, but also intensify the architectural experience of this unique micro-house.

The Timber Prototype House is a project of the International Building Exhibition (IBA) Thueringen.

For a detailed description and more images please view:

https://www.icd.uni-stuttgart.de/projects/iba-timber-prototype-house/

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PROJECT TEAM

ICD Institute for Computational Design
Prof. A. Menges (PI), Oliver Bucklin, Oliver David Krieg, Victor Rodriguez

Jade Hochschule Oldenburg
Hans Drexler, Marie Deilmann, Geronimo Bujny, Anna Bulavintseva

Internationale Bauaustellung Thüringen
Dr. Marta Doehler-Behzadi, Tobias Haag

PROJECT FUNDING

Bundesinstitut für Bau-, Stadt- und Raumforschung, Forschungsinitiative Zukunft Bau

MAIN SPONSORS

ThüringenForst
Rettenmeier Holding AG

CO-OPERATION AND INDUSTRY PARTNERS

Klima und Umweltlabel Holz von Hier
Georg Ackermann GmbH
Universal Holzbau GmbH
Glaskontor Erfurt GmbH
Bauhaus-Universität Weimar
Ingenieurbüro Matthias Münz
Nils Holger Moormann GmbH
hofmann+löffler creativeinrichtungen GmbH
Stadt Apolda