Wood construction
Youth Hostel Punkl is designed as an architecturally unique low-energy building which exploits natural resources of the surrounding area. There are many similar public facilities made of wood in the Koroška region.
Slovenia is a country covered with forests, yet its potential is not fully exploited. Wood has been used for building for thousands of years and is becoming more and more cherished as a building material in our region. This is mainly because of its many positive qualities, such as being warm and environment-friendly. In comparison to other materials used in building, wood is a material that lasts. It also has the ability to accumulate C02 as opposed to other materials who actually produce it.
There are many other advantages of wood. The construction of wooden buildings is clean and it does not take much time. Also its disassembly is easy and quick. This proves that wood is one of the most ecological building materials. Wood has the ability to control moisture and make the air cleaner. It is also a good insulator and quite pleasant to touch. One of the advantages of wood is also its economy, because it may be reused for various purposes.
The designers of Youth Hostel Punkl kept in mind that wood may be used in many different ways. The hostel is in principal designed as an ecological, low-energy building. Its construction is mainly build out of wood, but partly (foundations, supporting wall) out of prestressed concrete. The foundations, the supporting walls and walls leaning towards a terrain are all made of prestressed concrete. Load-bearing construction is made of solid wood, as well as the façade, ceilings, flooring and furniture.
During the construction period and now when the hostel is in use, the main aim was to minimize the negative environmental impact. Special care has been given to the environment, therefore plenty of measures which reduce the consumption of energy and negative environmental impact have been taken. Different technologies have been used in building engineering physics, mechanical installations and electrical installations. The entire building is built in compliance with high standards in the area of energy efficiency, water use efficiency and efficient use of raw materials.
Investitor: Zavod za kulturo, šport, turizem in mladinske dejavnosti Ravne na Koroškem
Co-funding: European union, Ministry of Education, Science and Sport, Office of the Republic of Slovenia for Youth
Project manager: Primož Praper, univ. dipl. gosp. inž.
Architect: doc. Maruša Zorec