22·26 Lingenau
Lingenau I Austria
Brief
The construction of a new preventive and social medicine centre on behalf of aks gesundheit GmbH for the Bregenz Forest was planned for Lingenau. The building was to house four flats, an underground garage and spacious treatment rooms and office space, and the design to emphasise the village’s characteristic features, take account of local regional building traditions and reflect their potential for the future.
“The method 22·26 required a solid, geometrically optimised construction with appropriate room heights to provide solid components as a thermal storage mass.”
Realisation
The compact, stand-alone building is carefully positioned on both the site and the slope. Its plasticity creates a dialogue with the open space in front of it and the terrace to the side, shaping the site as a whole. The urban feel of the outside space contrasts with the clear message of the façade: this is a typically Bregenz Forest building.
Shingling carries a multi-layered message
The façade features spruce-shingle cladding and sliding wooden shutters; the roof is made of anthracite-coloured metal panels. The shingling conveys a sense of solidity and, together with the exterior cornicing above the shutters, makes clear reference to regional building techniques. The building perpetuates local cultural and building values: precision, durability and the avoidance of superfluity.
Features
Despite having no heating, ventilation or cooling, 22·26 Lingenau provides comfortable temperatures of between 22 and 26°C all year round. This is achieved thanks to the solidity of the structure and optimum insulation of the building envelope and by means of efficient window ventilation with a combined temperature and CO2-level control system that can be manually overridden at any time. As a result, the building is pleasantly warm in winter and relatively cool in summer with good air quality whatever the season.
High standards of comfort and views of the surrounding area
The highly distinctive nature of the design is also visible inside. The service cores on the two floors that accommodate the treatment centre itself can be expanded and contracted in a metaphor that mirrors the beating of a heart. This flexibility also significantly increases the quality of the patient waiting areas, offering views of the village and surrounding countryside. These exterior views are provided by specially designed windows with narrow ventilation panels that are recessed in the 50 cm thick brick walls.
Photo credits © Jens Ellensohn
