A residence made entirely of Swiss wood, Köniz

The project
The Arborea residential building is located on a quiet neighborhood street near the center of Köniz and only a few minutes' walk from the train station. There are 21 apartments in the five-story building. The residential units have 2.5 to 4.5 rooms and are between 53 and 108 square meters in size. The apartments are accessible via the arcades. According to the real estate management's invitation to tender, the new residential building is designed for tenants "who combine their idea of urban living with proximity to the city center, an environmentally compatible lifestyle and openness." For example, the arcades are shared, and tenants also have access to a common room. The construction method The special features of the residential building: The outer pergola, via which the residents enter their apartments

The construction
The structure, which is completely decoupled from the wooden cube. The arbors are supported by curved concrete columns reminiscent of tree trunks. The residential building is a wooden structure. The interior walls made of solid wood panels are load-bearing and bracing. The entire horizontal bracing has thus been solved via the timber construction, i.e. via the interior walls, and not, as is so often the case, via a concrete core. The residential building also manages without steel beams. All the wood used for Arborea comes from Switzerland. The façade is made of untreated wood from silver fir trees from the Emmental, the window frames are made of larch, and those of the fireproof windows are made of oak. The building has a very well insulated building envelope. The design and materialization of the facade support the passive use of solar energy. Solar collectors cover the flat roof almost completely and supply the residential building with the necessary residual energy.