Maximierung der ökologischen Nachhaltigkeit in mehrgeschoßigen Holzwohngebäuden: Erkenntnisse aus dem Forschungsprojekt natuREbuilt

Abstract

The research project natuREbuilt, funded by the FFG COIN program, has developed a planning tool accessible to the public on the website www.naturebuilt.at. This tool provides qualified information on construction materials, assemblies, and component configurations suitable for use in multi-story wooden residential buildings adhering to the principle of maximum ecology. Each assembly is accompanied by additional information on construction, building physics, manufacturing, and an ecological assessment. Technical drawings for each assembly are also provided. Alongside the development of the online planning tool, the natuREbuilt innovation network, comprising Austrian experts from research, planning, and industry, conducted a comprehensive hygrothermal monitoring of existing ecological buildings, experimental investigations at the TU Wien's Outdoor Eco Test Stand, and numerical simulations using the WUFI software to analyze the potential of natural insulation materials. The outdoor test stand experiments represent a novelty in the practical examination of ecological insulation materials. Deliberate defects were incorporated into the studied wall elements to simulate damages during execution and use. Over an 18-month period, hygrothermal measurements assessed the long-term behavior of the wall constructions, with the test stand's interior conditioned to mimic average user behavior. The research project demonstrated that the error tolerance of the examined natural insulation materials is higher than that of mineral wool. Particularly in terms of mold resistance, results for sheep's wool and wood fiber are promising. Expected insulation properties were surpassed in some cases, with no significant difference observed in the blowing method for chopped straw insulation.