House SHS is a new timber-framed building. Originally, the existing building was to be renovated. Although relatively new (dating from the 1980s), a thorough review revealed that renovating this building would be too technically and economically complex. The construction method chosen at the time, using prefabricated solid elements (for both ceilings and walls), is too inflexible for a renovation.
The new building was positioned so that a large, contiguous garden area was created in place of the previous three unused plots. This garden faces the Schwechat River, meaning that virtually no neighboring buildings are visible from the terrace and garden. The house opens up in this direction; it remains relatively closed off from the immediate neighbor on the opposite side.
The building has a basement that is approximately half the size of the ground floor. The house was then built as a single-story timber-frame structure on top of the basement ceiling/foundation slab. The prefabricated wall panels are post-and-beam constructions with internal cellulose insulation. Two different roof systems were chosen. The area containing the bedrooms and bathrooms was constructed as a flat roof using cross-laminated timber panels, while the open-plan living, kitchen, and dining area received a pitched roof. This pitched roof was also prefabricated and consists of insulated frame elements with a subsequently installed, ventilated sheathing and aluminum shingle covering. The entire timber frame structure was erected in four days. The ventilated facade was clad with untreated larch boards, which will weather to a gray patina over time.
The house is heated by an air-source heat pump and underfloor heating. A photovoltaic system was installed on the southeast-facing roof surface.