The four-story building offers more than 100 workplaces in 2,000 m² (21,527.8 ft²) of office space.
Structural analysis of the solid timber construction was done by a Dlubal Software customer, the engineering office Göppert Bauingenieure from Lahr, Germany.
Structure
The House of Farmers in Freiburg has the outer dimensions L x W x H = approximately 55 m x 18 m x 14 m (180 ft x 59 ft x 46 ft). Inside the building, a staircase core made of reinforced concrete serves as structural stiffening. Apart from that, timber has been used almost exclusively for the supporting structure: The walls, columns, and binding girders consist of glued-laminated timber, the ceilings of cross‑laminated timber plus a concrete layer with a thickness of 8 cm (3.1 in).
The shear connection between the wooden ceiling with a thickness of 20 cm (7.8 in) and the concrete is ensured by diagonally inserted FP connectors. From a structural point of view, this hybrid solution has the advantage that the effectiveness of the ceiling panel to transfer horizontal loads is improved. In addition, the concrete provides good noise insulation.
The exterior wall structure ensures good thermal insulation: 20 cm (7.8 in) solid timber wall, 20 cm (7.8 in) non-flammable mineral wool and 8 cm (3.1 in) laminated spruce as the facade. And the glass construction is placed in front of the facade, at a distance of 14 cm (5.5 in).
For this project, costing 8 million euros, approximately 3,000 m³ (105,944 ft³) spruce wood and 2,000 m³ (70,629 ft³) silver fir were used for the construction.
| Structural Engineering | Göppert Civil Engineers, Lahr, Germany www.gbi-statik.de |
| Architect | Werkgruppe Lahr, Lahr, Germany www.werkgruppe-lahr.de |
| Investor | Baden Agricultural Association (BLHV), Freiburg, Germany www.blhv.de |
