4×4 the WOODEN PILOT | 2022, Oliver Gerner, Austria

Architects: GERNER GERNER PLUS. AllesWirdGut
Lead Architect: Oliver Gerner, Julia Haranza
Client: ARWAG
Photographer: GERNER GERNER PLUS. & AllesWirdGut

Good conversion potential and flexibility reduce the risk of vacancy and contribute in the long term to user acceptance, extension of service life and reduction of life cycle costs, i.e. the economic success of the property.” (DGNB-Deutsche Gesellschaft für nachhaltiges Bauen; 2022) The developed wooden construction kit system reacts to the challenges of the climate crisis. It requires less material in the life cycle (sufficiency), combines material-appropriate construction methods with an innovative energy system and reasonable floor plans (efficiency), and creates long-lasting flexible room structures and components (consistency). The flexibility of the construction is ensured by an open supporting structure system and demountable superstructures. The construction principle of “screwing instead of gluing” creates scope for adaptations over the course of the building’s life cycle and avoids the waste that would otherwise be produced in the course of future adaptations.

Balconies, terraces, and external accesses are self-supporting and are therefore structurally independent, which creates efficient building sequences and consistent constructions. The modularity of the structure creates structural flexibility and at the same time enables space efficient and flexible floor plans. This offers the option of adapting the building to future usage requirements with comparatively little effort. This usage neutrality is strengthened by the reduction of load-bearing interior walls, clear shaft positioning that bundles sanitary and kitchen lines, and efficient wet room layouts. The designed modular system is applicable to the diverse site configurations of a heterogeneous city like Vienna.