(1)The Village of Blons

In 2003 there were only 3 enterprises in Blons with a total of 7 people employed and 2 apprentices.  The number of people that had to pay income tax in Blons was 153.

There is a kindergarten and a school in the new community centre in Blons.  Of the 340 inhabitants, 170 are school age children.  Children from other villages in the area come to Blons to attend the secondary school here. 

If you would like to make a comparison in size, take a look at the valley opposite.  You can see the whole village of Raggal from here.  Raggal is the largest village in the Walser Valley. 

The mayor of Blons is elected by ballot and carries out his duties on a part time basis.  He has 9 town councillors at his side. 

He can be reached in his office in the community centre during the usual business hours.

It was decided to go ahead with the big community centre project in 2002.  The community centre has won many awards. It is home to all the important posts of a small community like the municipal office, the school, a bank, a local supplier, a kindergarten and a restaurant, making it a meeting place for the townspeople.  It is the village square and an exhibition room as well.  The most dramatic incidence that happened in the history of the village, namely, the avalanche catastrophe, is also documented here. 

Many visitors from all over the world come here to admire the concept and the architecture of the community centre.

The first settlers that came here in the 11th or 12th centuries were the Romansh speaking people of Switzerland.  During the 14th century, German speaking settlers ousted the Romanian population.  During this time, Vorarlberg was ruled by the Habsburgs from their estates in the Tyrol and Fore Austria (Freiburg in Breisgau).  The village belonged to Bavaria from 1805 to 1814, after which it was returned to Austria.  Blons has belonged to the state of Vorarlberg since it was founded in the year 1861.  It was under French occupation from 1945 to 1955.  Between January 10th and 12th, 1954, there were 13 avalanches in Blons and fifty seven people lost their lives.

The village museum recounts the details of those devastating events.

(3)The Community Centre

You dialled for information about the community centre in Blons.

The community centre, which houses the municipal office, an elementary school and a kindergarten, is right next to the church.  It is the meeting place for the 370 inhabitants of Blons and was awarded the Constructor Prize from the central union of Austrian  architects in 2004.  In 2005 it was awarded the Vorarlberg Architecture prize for timber construction and adding value to the region.  It was the winning project of the year.

Both buildings are situated on the slope, on street level, and enclose an area that is used as an outdoor café and a new village square, respectively.  It is also used as a school yard.  Under the village square level, on the valley side, there is an open, event area which can be reached from the municipal office level. 

The community centre was also built as a monument to the avalanche disaster in 1954. 

The mighty school construction not only houses a kindergarten, but it also has important semi-public functions such as a grocery store and a bank.

The community centre in Blons is an architectonic and functional construction that is unique in that the wood used for construction came from the community owned forest and was implemented in an environmentally friendly manner.  In this way, the building contributed to the improvement of the protection forest and added value to the region as well. 

Bruno Spagolla from Bludenz was the architect

The jury was made up of:  Walter Zschokke, Regine Schineis, Hansjörg Hilti

(4) Commentary on the Architecture

Commentary from the Austrian Architecture centre in Nextroom.  There we read:

In consequence of the devastating avalanche in Blons in January, 1954, snow supporting structures were erected and the protection forest was extended to help better protect the village.  Because there is ample high quality timber from the forest like Spruce, Larch, Silver Fir and Sycamore, it stood to reason that the town- owned resources should be used for the upcoming central building project.  Bruno Spagolla, who had already made an extension for the secondary school in the 1980‘s, won a contest for the construction of a two classroom elementary school with a gymnasium, and a new office for the municipal administration with a restaurant and a village shop.  These multi-layered functions, which are important to the village identity, are divided into two constructions built from timber.   They had to define the flat area and correspond with or newly define the church courtyard. 

Both cubatures (lower level concrete, remaining walls solid wood, ceilings and roof, diagonal dowel wood construction elements),  are deferred to the south slope, for the benefit of the village-like qualities of the area around the church and so that the lower level on the valley side receives enough sunlight.

You enter the gabled elementary school building and the village shop, on the drawn-in north east corner.  The classrooms are on the upper level, and the gymnasium, with a view of the valley, is on the lower level.  The pediment of the attic is completely glassed in and has a built-in gallery which is used as a seminar room.  The village restaurant is on the ground floor of the west building, which is also accessible from the north corner.  Underneath, accessible from the west side are the municipal offices.  The large proportion of internal labour as well as the high, and at the same time unobtrusive construction quality of this new village centre consolidation, were probably the reasons why the new building was not only a virtual property, but also became a symbolic property of the community.

The central union of Austrian architects awarded the project with the construction prize in 2004 and emphasised the unique constellation of the responsibilities:  „The mayor chose a very direct and democratic decision making policy.   In two big village assemblies, the project was discussed, a workgroup made up of interested townspeople was made, and the decision making authority configured.   All aspects of the planning were worked on until they were widely accepted, right up to the integration of a  challenging and very sensitive art project.“   This shows that the ever strived for „common denominator“ doesn‘t have the smallest effect, but, on the contrary, can have the best effect.   The text is from Gabriele Kaiser and was published in December, 2004.

(5)Interview with the Mayor of Blons

Peter Metzler talked to Mayor Bachman

Mayor Bachman,  20 years ago, the town of Blons hired the architect, Bruno Spagolla to add an extension to the secondary school.  Back then it was built in the conventional concrete and brick fashion.  Now, 20 years later, we have the community centre and the elementary school, right in the middle of the town, built by the same architect using timber, and the question that comes to mind is:  What changed during the time in between?   Have standards changed in general, or was it the architectural style that changed, or what were the reasons for the community of Blons for using timber construction?

Basically, the township had timber available and we also wanted to tie the history of Blons into the centre, where there used to be an old, traditionally built farm house instead of a modern building.  We had a number of meetings and developed an environmentally friendly concept with our citizens and the architect which was meant to lead to a timber construction that could be built without the use of glue or other chemicals. 

Is there a new sense of self confidence mirrored in these two buildings, where people say that high quality architecture can be derived from high quality local resources?

The fact that architects from all over the world- like France and the USA, are coming here and there is a real boom in architecture tourism for us, is proof positive that a good piece of architecture was created.  We used unfinished Spruce, Silver Fir and Sycamore lumber.  Because we had 1,500 cubic meters of wood available in our own forest, we tried to involve local wood processing firms to keep the added value in the valley.  These buildings are also a good example of how to use Silver Fir in modern homes.

The wood used for the modern furnishings was also very finely finished and the processing plants developed a slab system in connection with using Silver Fir, which is multi-functional.  As you can see, we were also able to implement our ideas in the interior fittings and furnishings, and still stick to the very clear and simple architecture of the building.

You mentioned the ample supply of wood that your community was able to use.  The historical background of this was actually tragic, wasn‘t it?

That‘s right.  50 years ago we had a devastating avalanche in Blons.  There were numerous avalanches on one day and we had 55 casualties and 2 missing people in our village.  The protection forest was then re-forested and during the past few years we have had to carry out extensive renewal measures which led to being able to take as much wood as was needed for the new buildings, from the forest.

Mr. Mayor, lets go back to the technical aspects of the community centre.  There are ground probes that are connected to the community heating network and they heat the building.  What were your thoughts about that?  

Basically, we wanted to keep the added value in the valley by constructing a bio mass facility which would heat the building.  The ground probes help cool the building in the summer which it needs because of the elevated proportion of glass.  We invested a lot in a perfect ventilation system in order to keep energy costs to a minimum throughout the year.

The new community centre is still very young.  What do you, as the mayor, expect from the structural measures in regards to the social dynamics of the community?

We didn‘t have a restaurant here for three years, and this changed with the integration of a restaurant in the community centre.  The local supplier has also got the best chances in the elementary school building.  The village square, which is much bigger than the one we had, has led to unimagined enlivenment.  In the beginning, we wanted to build a social services department, but it came to light in a municipal council conference and in some events with the public, that an open community centre with a functioning local supplier were much more important enterprises.

Resistance to this uncompromising design was overcome during the numerous project presentations by the architects.

Since we won the construction prize in 2004, we have a lot of requests for architectural tours.  The project has been published in many trade magazines and commended by the daily press.  For this reason, it doesn‘t surprise us that so many people from all over, want to see it.

(6)Built with their own wood

Appropriate, classic and just awarded the construction prize: a school, a shop, the municipal office and a village restaurant made from solid wood.  Designed by Bruno Spagolla for Blons in the Great Walser Valley.

 by Walter Zschokke

 If you look at the sun side of valley from the south and see all the farms in the tiny village of Blons, you notice that there are a couple of large buildings near the church with some smaller ones gathered around it.  Together, they form the village square.  The church steeple with its spiky pinnacle stands out from the group.  Underneath it, lies the long side of the nave under the steep shingled roof.  Both sides are attached to gabled constructions which are four or five times bigger than the single family homes close by.  The one on the left is the old elementary school which was built in the 1950‘s, and on the right we see the new one that was just opened this fall.  On the outer wings of this, as it were, classic construction, there are two buildings which are parallel to the slope; on the left the secondary school built in the 1970‘s which will expand into the old elementary school, and on the right we see the building that houses the new village restaurant and the municipal offices.  The wood of the new buildings is still bright yellow.  In a few years, the sun would have burned it to a golden brown and later even darker. 

Is this consolidation of the village that was built with harmony in mind, really contemporary?  Contextual construction is passé.  It is in to accentuate opposites, to fixate on the sparkly solitaire, and anyway, what happened to innovation?  Appropriateness, and that‘s what we‘re talking about here, is timeless.   To design something appropriate does not mean to build a mono-functional building and add trimmings to make it stand out.  After a few years the building runs the risk of becoming an embarrassing eyesore with its aggressive „look at me“ exterior whose exorbitant gestures have become absurd.  Today, since artistic polarisation has, in many cases, degenerated into an end in itself, and the running dogs of the architecture agitations-propaganda only address simple exteriors, it is a blessing to be allowed to comprehend the deep responsiveness to complexes, tradition and innovation of integrated appropriateness and to discover the complex thoughts, which resulted in the decision for this design.  With this, we enter the area of the complex enjoyment of architecture, which is superior to the high we get from superficial effects, because in the long run, it is lasting.  This also means that traditional principles, combined with technology are often less disturbing than new techniques that have hardly been tried out.  20th century architectural history shows that among other things, superseding experience can lead to blatant structural damage. 

The village of Blons lost 57 of its citizens in the avalanches on January 11th, 1954.  The snow ploughed through the protection forest or made new paths for itself.  To combat this, snow nets were erected high up on the mountain and the community owned forest was expanded.  But the forest must be maintained; through forestry.  This is why there are plenty of strong trunks from Spruce, Silver Fir, Larch and even a few Sycamores available.

The citizens of Blons own a lot of wood, and this is why they decided to use it as a construction material for the badly needed community centre.  The new buildings were meant to be the home to the two classroom elementary school with a gymnasium and a village shop as well as the municipal buildings and last but not least, a village restaurant.  Memories of the avalanche came up and had to be dealt with, and served as a warning for ski tourists and snow boarders.  Bruno Spaggola from Bludenz, who had built the secondary school years ago, was chosen to carry out the project by means of an architecture competition. 

The functions are divided between the two buildings that are pushed away from the road and up into the slope so that there is a flat area for the school yard and parking lot, and underneath, towards the valley, the whole level has sun light.  On the lower level of the gabled school house, there is a gymnasium and a cloak room.  The large, eccentric window brands the front side of the building and offers the gymnasts a view of the valley.  Up on the ground floor, there is a village shop which used to be away from the street and quite cramped.  On the drawn-in north east side, there is a Schopf - or Tuft - which is what the people in Vorarlberg call a weather proof area, in front of the entrance to the school rooms which fill the upper level.  A gallery uses the ample space under the gabled roof as a seminar room.  The pediment is paned and lets you have a view of the valley. 

But now to the timber:  With a provisional cable way, the wood was brought out of the forest and cut into blocks and beams in a nearby sawmill.  The Spruce planks were cut into 20 x 80 cm. elements and clamped together by means of diagonally, predrilled and force fitted pegs made of Beech wood.  The dried out pegs expand in the slightly damper Spruce tree wood and are held in place by friction.  The craftsmen call it diagonal dowel wood.  The walls and ceilings were made from these elements and then transported and erected into the reinforced concrete foundation.  To make it weather proof, a plank that has been tongue and grooved and also held together by the diagonal dowels was erected in front of the wooden wall.  Together, they have enough insulation and accumulator properties for the building to meet Passive House standards.   The gabled roof is also made out of diagonal dowel timber elements.  The static behaviour of these planks and sheaves, is comparable to reinforced concrete but only weighs a third as much and doesn‘t generate any thermal bridges.  Ample concrete was used for the parts that come in contact with the ground.  And so the materials complement one another.

Simple, knot free boards and scantling, which were used for the windows and interiors came from the largest Silver Firs, a tree that is more common in Vorarlberg than in other parts of Austria.  Banisters and stairs were made from hand processed Sycamore.  Almost all of the wood found in the protection forest can be found in the school house.

The other building houses the village restaurant on the ground floor and the municipal offices in the basement.  The frame construction was built from strong  plywood posts, and the pent roof supported again by the diagonal dowel wooden boards which were clamped together.  The design remains contemporary, which suits an open minded community with a large number of young citizens.  Above all, the need for a common place for social events was fulfilled.  The wonderful view from the tables along the south façade will also attract other guests.  While enjoying the view they can learn about the history of the buildings, and how well appropriateness and cross linked thinking and actions are represented here.

Report published in „Spectrum“ 12.11.2004

Contact person for this page:  officenextroom.at

(7)The Avalanche

In an excerpt from the book „The White Danger“ by Martin Engler, we read:

When it started to snow in February, 1999 and didn‘t seem to want to stop, the people in the Alpine Valleys suddenly found themselves imprisoned behind a „white curtain“.

Cut off from the rest of the world, despite all the professional and high technology rescue possibilities, they were on their own.  It was total helplessness in the 20th century!  The history of the Alps shows us that it has always been like this:  Snowstorms that cause avalanches, prevent rescue operations for the victims.  How much did the people have to suffer in the olden days?  One of the biggest catastrophes during the 20th century took place in 1954 in the Great Walser Valley.  The village of Blons was the worst hit with 56 casualties.  

The principal of the elementary school in Blons, Eugen Dobler, was an eye witness to those events.  He lost his house and his sister in the avalanche and during the first 36 hours, he and a handful of villagers dug with their bare hands to try to save the lives of the people buried beneath the snow.  Eugen Dobler wrote a touching chronicle about the catastrophe in 1954.  

The book by Eugen Dobler is titled: „Leusorg“ - Leu means avalanche and sorg means sorrow.  It is about the sorrow and fear an avalanche can bring with it.  The book is available in the municipal offices.

Eugen Dobler was an eyewitness to the avalanche disaster in 1954 in the Great Walser Valley.  He gives a haunting and authentic account of how the disaster slowly evolved, the fight for his life and the inhuman rescue operations that the villagers had to carry out all alone.

From the book:

Up until Christmas day in 1953 we enjoyed an unparalleled Indian summer.  One sunny day after the other and flowers were blooming in the meadows.  In the last week before Christmas, there was a bouquet of colourful flowers on the teacher‘s desk.  Once the Autumn chores done, some of the Spring chores could be seen to.  Still, some people didn‘t trust the unusual sunny weather and you often heard people wondering out loud if we would have to pay for all those beautiful days.  And in the end, they were right!

The first snow flakes fell on Christmas eve.  At first it didn‘t seem to be bad.  Up until the 9th of January, 1954, the snow was only about a half a shoe high (15cm -16cm).  It was a Saturday.  A light snow fall began.  Sunday morning, the 10th of January, the snow was already 2 shoes or 60cm - 65cm high and was growing steadily.  The light snowfall at the beginning turned into a big snow storm.  Even so, most of the people went to mass that morning.  On the way to church, and more on the way home again, a few church goers were surprised by snow skirmishes and pushed off the paths.  At about lunch time, the feathery light powder snow at the church was already 70 to 80 cm high.  The farmers left the restaurant earlier than usual and headed for home.  The scent of danger was in the air, but nobody believed the kind of surprise we were in for.  Some of us would never set foot alive in the church again.  The weather report talked about heavy snow falls west of the Brandner Valley in the direction of the Great Walser Valley and a possibility of avalanches.  I almost wanted to believe the favourably manipulated danger alarm for the Brandner Valley, but the next few hours proved the danger alarm to be right.  The snow storm grew stronger and stronger, and by evening the snow was over a metre high.

Read the exciting book by Eugen Dobler.

The Swiss Avalanche chronicle wrote about the catastrophe in Blons in the chapter: A look across the border:

In the winter of 1954 the damages from avalanches in Vorarlberg, especially in the Great Walser Valley took on devastating dimensions.  A similar catastrophe occurred only once in Austria in 1689, while in the Swiss Alps, only the big avalanche year of 1720 claimed a similar amount of victims.

It is unimaginable what it means when in a remote village in a mountain valley, like in the Great Walser Valley, 164 people are buried in snow with their houses and their animals.  Or what it means when alone in the small village of Blons with a population of 365, 118 people are buried,16 of them twice, with 55 lives lost and 22 people injured and 2 people, never found again.  Blons had other devastating avalanches in the years 1497, 1689, 1717, 1806, 1808, and 1853.

All of the roads in and out of Blons were completely cut off and the telephone lines were also down.

Today‘s lessons

Many historic avalanches caused a lot of damage in the lower regions.  These areas are hardly paid attention to in today‘s avalanche prognoses.  It has been shown, however, that extreme situations with low temperatures and low lying snow fall boundaries, regions under 1000 metres can be affected by big avalanches.  It has also been seen that in extreme conditions avalanches can happen in in hilly areas, places that are not very steep at all.   These situations are very rare and statistics show that they only occur every 50 to 100 years.  But just because of what the statistics say doesn‘t mean that there is always a time span of 50 to 100 years between the events.  It can be longer or shorter, which is clearly shown in the avalanche winters of 1951 and 1954.

On the 50 year anniversary of the avalanche in Blons, the townspeople were reminded of the event and a permanent exhibition was opened. 

During the past 50 years, the Great Walser Valley has invested a lot in avalanche protection constructions.  The protection forest is of great significance.  Forests that are not maintained or regenerated mean high risk.  In order for it to protect, the forest must be farmed

This is why concepts that make utilization of the forest possible are very welcome.  The LEADER + project „Mountain Timber“ has hit the bulls eye and makes regeneration of the forest possible by utilizing mountain timber.

(8)The Biosphere Park

The Biosphere park in the Great Walser Valley is a model region of modern, lasting management in the Alpine area.  The Great Walser Valley was awarded the title of Biosphere Park in 2002 by UNESCO after the „Man and Biosphere“ programme. 

t-guide has equipped it with its own telephone number.  If you would like detailed information about it at a later date, please call 0043 5574 611 or wait 5 seconds and you will be connected automatically.

Enjoy your stay in the valley where man lives and works consciously in harmony with nature.