0) Introduction

You are in the village of Langenegg, a community with approximately 1,000 inhabitants and 335 houses. Langenegg is an “E5 model community”, and pursues an exemplary environmental programme. E5 stands for energy efficiency. Langenegg is also a “climate alliance community”. The building you are standing in front of is a product of sustainable community policy. You can find out more about this under No.1 (general information on the construction and on its functional structure). Under No.2, the architect provides details about the spatial planning aspects. The initial situation and the “Stop in Langenegg” project and Lebenswert Leben are described under No.3. There is a note from the mayor under No.4. You can listen in to a talk with the mayor by selecting No.5 or with the architect responsible by choosing No.6. The audio guide wishes you an informative stay in Langenegg.

(1) Facts and figures

The Langenegg kindergarten does not only house the kindergarten, but also a venue for practising music, a youth club room as well as a fitness room (gym). The entrance hall is also designed for multiple uses.

The Langenegg kindergarten does not only house the kindergarten, but is also a place for the local music society and the choir to rehearse. Furthermore, the building also contains the youth club room and a fitness room or gym for clubs in the locality. The entrance hall is also designed for multiple uses. Small cultural events take place here, for example. The building was constructed and opened in 2004. Sports pitches and a volleyball court were built all around the building as places to meet. Only 278 m² was built on to create the 846 m² gross floor area. The basement was constructed using local concrete, while the rest of the building was completely made of silver fir wood. The roof is a wood dowel construction, a technique that is specially designed to bind wood together without the use of glue. The façade consists of a diagonal wood cladding with back-ventilated wood slats. The architects Josef Fink and Markus Thurner not only managed to win the competition, but also architectural awards. The special energy system was designed by the planning group E+. An energy-efficient concept was put into practice with controlled ventilation supply and removal and connection to the local biomass heating plant. All the companies who worked on the project are from the community or surrounding communities. Mainly rough-sawn silver fir wood was used for the interior fittings. All the silver fir is from the community’s local forestry resources. You can learn more on this in the following sections.

(2) Spatial planning

The intention is for the new kindergarten and cafe – complemented with facilities for young people, clubs and sport – to strengthen the centre of Langenegg.

The architects Fink/ Thurnher describe Langenegg as follows:

“For historical reasons, the centre of Langenegg is not very defined and is formed by a group of public buildings. The intention is for the new kindergarten and cafe – complemented with facilities for young people, clubs and sport – to strengthen the centre of Langenegg. The location of the existing buildings creates a succession of square-like areas at different levels. At the same time, the view here changes, from a vista of the slopes in the north to a panoramic view towards the south.

The two new buildings – the kindergarten and the cafe – illustrate this situation in a natural way. The kindergarten, with its orientation towards both directions, forms a gateway together with the existing buildings. It delimits a new square which links the lower lying school yard with the other, higher areas. The kindergarten foyer extends the line of vision into the interior. This central access area and protected entrance niche harmonises with the traditional buildings. The use of untreated silver fir (as a building material and for the completion of the interior) supports this dialogue with the local building culture. The exclusive use of one building material requires great design discipline, which promotes the creation of constructions and details with great clarity. The sensual quality of the untreated wood is complemented by measurable criteria such as pollution-free air and an excellent ecobalance.

The cafe marks the location which affords the panoramic view. The building type which includes a base and a transparent ground-floor front façade, accentuates its special location. Similar to the kindergarten, the building is defined by visual and spatial relationships which are, however, quite different here. This affinity which the two new buildings display, whilst, simultaneously, being very distinctive due to their respective locations, creates a spatial interrelationship.”

(3) Initial situation

Langenegg is an agricultural settlement with scattered buildings and no clear focal point. Our aim is to encourage people driving through the area to stop and spend some time here.

The general perception is that “Langenegg is an agricultural settlement with scattered buildings and no clear focal point. This applies to the church and surrounding village as well as the centre. People do not notice the village and simply drive past.”

As a result, the local authorities, together with the local population, began to discuss how to make Langenegg more interesting to people driving through it and how to encourage them to stop and spend some time there.

Projects were carried out with students from the Voralberg institute of architecture, the Uni Ibk and Liechtenstein University. These projects paid great attention to the design of the village centre and there were various suggestions regarding architecture which would attract attention. The “Stop in Langenegg” and “Lebenswert Leben” projects were developed from these initiatives.

The initiative led to the founding of an association to fund the task in hand. This, in turn, meant that the kindergarten and the “Stopp” cafe could be set up.

The association members were able to buy shares at EUR 1000 each. This provided the basis and the call for the project to move on from the planning stage to implementation.

(4) Note

The mayor would like to note that the use of silver fir wood is important to local value creation. Until a few years ago, it was not possible to obtain a good price for silver fir wood, which led to stocks with a disproportionate number of very mature trees. The promotion of the use of silver fir within the community grew out of the necessity to rejuvenate the forest and the endeavour to gain independence. The best thing to do was to lead the way by example and set up public silver fir projects. We also see this as an example of adding value locally and sustainable management. Long-term experience with old houses shows that silver fir cladding on the weather side of the house lasts for 30 – 40 years. The wood is untreated and therefore easy to dispose of – a good example for other projects.