Project duration: 06/2021 - 05/2024

The building method based on solid Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) is a fast-paced developing construction method with enormous potential for the future. Cross laminated timber opens new fields of application and design possibilities to utilize the ecological construction material timber. Due to its excellent machinability in the course of production process the material is also an “enabling technology” for industrial construction with a high level of pre-fabrication using new possibilities of digitalization (keyword: “construction 4.0”). In order to assure a sustainable development of the solid timber construction not only production and availability of cross laminated timber are significant but also know-how and experience in dealing correctly with this construction material by project actors during the design and planning process as well as by executing companies.

While in many areas (e. g. structural or fire design) important basics for design and execution are available and well-known, building infrastructure technology in the context of solid timber construction has been a subject of little attention so far although it’s highly relevant for this construction method. The integration of the building infrastructure for water-carrying lines appropriate for timber construction is of key interest because unrevealed creeping leaks and leakages may cause massive damages to load-bearing wooden structures which are difficult to repair. Practical cases show these problems already. An increased incidence of such moisture damages can destroy trust in solid timber construction over the long term which constitutes a risk for the timber building industry.

Because this topic has been given relatively little attention so far, sophisticated and user-friendly solutions are missing. That’s the reason why the implementation of a timber construction suitable planning and application of technical building infrastructure installations is difficult and usually does not take place. Therefore, creative and constructive basics and solutions for this task are needed that meet solid timber construction requirements to protect wooden bearing structures from moisture and simultaneously provide the possibility to use advantages of pre-fabrication and system construction in the context of solid timber construction. Furthermore, design and planning tools have to be prepared enabling not only design partners but also executing companies to consider and implement efficiently in the design and planning process such installation solutions applicable for timber construction.

Both topics are addressed in this research project. One essential objective is to develop basics for a timber construction adjusted planning and implementation of sanitary installations in the form of suitable installation solutions for common wet-rooms. At the same time, above all, new solutions should be created. Another important objective is the development of digital planning tools to apply simply the developed installation solutions in the design and planning process. For that, methods of digital design and building such as Building Information Modeling (BIM), parametric modeling and automated design methods are used.

Last but not least the preparation and delivery of the acquired project results in an appropriate and usable form for the specific economical sector. In addition to the open dissemination of the results by means of workshops and publications within the framework of the project a configurator for wet-rooms will be developed and provided via the Internet.

Collective Research | General Programmes

The funding of cooperative research projects (sector projects) in Collective Research supports pre-competitive research projects which do not include any directly exploitable product and process or service developments.

Collective Research stands for cooperative research projects for whose results are made available to the industry and is open to all topics.