Kloboucká lesní is continuously paving the way towards sustainable forestry. In a field that is not commonly associated with innovation or green technology, the company identifies as progressive and creative; and their new headquarters building will represent these values. Designed by Mjölk architekti, the building is environmentally responsible, simple and modest, but equipped with cutting-edge technology – and placed in a natural setting surrounded by vegetation and water. It is not just an administrative building, it is a laboratory for studying faster ways of constructing buildings and better ways of working with energy and materials to minimize their environmental impact.
The building design shows the way for future construction projects. Environmentally responsible, the load-bearing structure is made exclusively from timber, a material that is produced on-site, in the Kloboucká lesní production hall located only a hundred meters away. Wood is the oldest and the simplest of materials, but the production process is very modern. As a flagship product of the company portfolio, glued laminated timber was used for the building frame. Repeated many times, the traditionally shaped frame forms an elongated and elegant volume.
Due to a major shift in the climatic conditions of the planet, the wood industry has been going through turbulent changes recently. Therefore, the new company headquarters has to be flexible and ready for future developments and change. The main load-bearing structure forms a modular shell for the building, leaving the interior space free and adjustable, including contingencies for unexpected growth.
“Two thousand wood houses are built in the Czech Republic per year, which equals up only about 0.5% of the total lumber production in the country. This is a negligible amount,” Kloboucká lesní shares. “Our mission is to increase this number, tap the potential offered to us, and make buildings sustainable not just in terms of low heating costs. Considering the current wood-based construction – we want to take a step back, look at the big picture, understand the principles and connections, and then reassemble the process with a new perspective.”
A combination of “contemporary technical solutions and common sense,” sustainable solutions were, predicatably, taken into consideration throughout the structure. PV array produces enough energy to meet the building’s requirements, while the surplus is directed to cover the energy requirements of the company’s production. In fact, the majority of all electronic equipment in the compound is using solar power at the moment. The headquarters’ solar panels also double as roofing material. Glass panels cover the northern part of the roof to let more light into the attic space.
Rainwater roof runoff is stored in open ponds and used for irrigation and for cooling during the summer months. And in the central boiler house, the primary heat source, the main fuel is wood chips of own production. This makes the site completely independent of any other fuel source.
“Having control over the whole process, guarding quality, supervising each production phase, considering not just profitability but primarily sustainability… This is not just about the processing and selling of wood, this is a complex pursuit,” Kloboucká lesní concludes. “Let’s call it forest care. At the beginning, there is a seed, at the end a house. The system cannot be separated into individual parts, the parts can’t exist on their own.”
Photography by BoysPlayNice.
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