For one of the buildings in Eggen, Lucerne, a tree trunk will be used to mark the two-storey passage through the centre of the Z-shaped building as load-bearing columns. Two Atlas cedars were selected, which were felled in the winter of 2023/24 in a forest near Figeac, France. The trees were approximately 120 years old.
We visited the trunks while they were stored in Müllheim in the Markgräflerland region of Germany. At that time, each trunk was about 13 meters long, with a diameter tapering from roughly 120 cm at the base to 80 cm at the top.
For structural reasons, vertical relief cuts were introduced along the peeled trunks to control drying behaviour and reduce the risk of longitudinal cracking. The trunks were subsequently placed in a drying chamber for approximately three months at a temperature of around 30°C to further reduce moisture content and stabilize the material.
Using timber as a load-bearing structural element, particularly in the façade, supports a resource-efficient construction approach. Compared to conventional steel columns, the timber columns generate approximately one fifth of the CO₂ emissions during production and processing. In addition, the trees absorbed carbon dioxide from the atmosphere during their growth, which remains stored within the wood for the duration of its use in the building. With approximately 6.5 m³ of timber integrated as a structural element, around 6.5 tonnes of CO₂ are stored, contributing to a reduced overall carbon footprint of the building structure.
Photograph of forest: l’Office de Tourisme du Grand Figeac
Photographs at sawmill: Aecherliholz
Visualisation: Nora Walter
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