At the foot of the Plan de Corones, in Riscone, stands the new house of Joachim Rubner, president of Rubner Haus, a company based in South Tyrol specialising in the production of ecological houses using wood. The house, on the site of an old farm house, is surrounded by the complex of buildings that framed the original courtyard: stables, bakery, chapel, garden and orchard, in the classic farm structure of the South Tyrol region.
Though the layout of the buildings is in keeping with local tradition, the architectural style of the building itself, constructed in a horse shoe around the central courtyard open on its west facing side, distances itself from classic Alpine structures, and is distinguished by a strong aesthetic duality. The outside is dominated by the simple linearity of the plastered walls, accentuating the solidity of the structure, whereas the part of the building that overlooks the courtyard is defined by larch clad walls featuring balconies and stained glass windows. The project is a concrete example of the great versatility wood offers as a construction material, as well as being a model of environmental sustainability. In fact, this is the first house built from scratch to receive the CasaClima Nature certificate, an instrument introduced by the CasaClima agency to evaluate buildings for their energy efficiency, their impact on the environment and on health. The CasaClima Nature certification process analyses the materials used in the construction, looking at their entire life cycle and using a database of environmental indicators such as embodied energy, and the CO2 emissions and other pollution produced during the production and transport of the materials used.
RUBNER HAUSZona Artigianale, 4
I - 39030 Chienes (Alto Adige)
Tel. +39 0474 563333
Fax +39 0474 563300
E-mail: info@haus.rubner.com
www.haus.rubner.com
