Twin²Sim

Commercial construction, Salzburg

The Twin²Sim project not only marks the largest single investment in the 25-year history of the Salzburg University of Applied Sciences, the research building on the Kuchl campus is also designed to be particularly smart and sustainable. The test centre for buildings and façades consists of a rotating test stand, test rooms and a multifunctional laboratory and is used for the integrated investigation of complex building envelopes and building technology.

Project information

Use: Façade test stand and multifunctional laboratory
Location: Salzburg
Theurl products used: 165 m³ CLT and 15m³ glulam

Project partners

Client: FH Salzburg

Smart building for the FH Salzburg

The Kuchl site was upgraded both functionally and architecturally at the same time, thus taking into account the positive development of research at the Salzburg University of Applied Sciences.

From 2022, users (the “Smart Building” degree programme, the timber technology & timber construction team and the Alpine Building Centre) will have additional workplaces in Twin²Sim, a high-quality, passive house-compatible timber construction designed by LP Architektur.

Exterior view of twin2sim with CLT products, Salzburg University of Applied Sciences

A total of 165 m³ of CLT elements (in industrial, industrial plus and visible quality) and 15 m³ of glulam (in industrial and visible quality) were used for the office building and warehouse. The combination of different qualities, different panel thicknesses and the division of the exposed walls and ceilings presented a major challenge in terms of material and appearance.

The extra-wide transport (the widest component measured 3.443 metres), walls more than seven metres high and the fact that the office building had to be delivered in two sections were more of an incentive than an obstacle for THEURL’s dedicated team, which successfully proved itself as part of a large project group.

In the future, the Kuchl UAS location will be further strengthened and expanded with a focus on wood, biogenic materials and alpine construction.

Housing and climate protection are central themes alongside well-being in the home, which are intended to show trendsetting tendencies at the sustainability research campus. The architecture – a contemporary mix of form, materials and design – visibly emphasises the special function as a technical building in this sense.