Low Tech

Contrary to the trend towards increasingly "intelligent" houses, Low Tech focuses on technology-saving and durable solutions, in line with the principle that "less is more".

What does a house need and what does it not need to achieve the legally required energy efficiency? Many new guidelines, inadequately maintained building technology systems and the resulting increase in complexity and rising construction costs are increasingly confronting the construction industry with this question. "Low tech" is seen as an important area of innovation here.

Read more

"Less is more" is the motto for low-tech advocates in the construction industry. However, there is more to this principle than the phrase suggests:

  • A sophisticated concept for a robust, durable building that fulfills all basic functions with lean building services. Even in the early planning phase, the amount of technology required to achieve the required energy efficiency must be carefully considered.
  • Very few buildings are specifically planned as low-tech projects. Rather, it is the clever combination of different components that ultimately turns a house into a low-tech building.
  • On an innovation map, the Zukunftsagentur Bau presents the first low-tech buildings in Austria, Germany and Switzerland. The selected practical examples demonstrate successfully implemented ideas and concepts. Projects that contain one or more low-tech elements were selected. The frequently used components include monolithic construction, thermal activated building and the use of storage masses.

Catholic competence center Salzburg

The Caritas headquarters in Salzburg now accommodate around 100 employees. In addition to a counseling service, Friedensstraße now also houses the six...

Straw house Bechter

The clients wanted a barrier-free, cost-effective and ecological house - so they came up with the idea of building it from straw. The architect design...

5 Euro living

"NEUE HEIMAT TIROL" has built a €5 rental housing complex with 18 apartments and 10 carports in Schwaz. The architects' office "architectur studiosymb...

Kulturkraftwerk oh456

The plus-energy office building oh456 with attached small hydropower plant serves as a prototype for testing innovative technologies. The building wil...

Parish Seetal

The construction emphasizes constructive wood protection. The heating works fully solar by means of concrete core activation. The building was designe...

Rectory Bruck

The facade is made of sawed larch, which has been treated with a special glaze to anticipate the natural gray coloration....

Gusswerk

Relatively low-cost construction, flexibly usable areas, solid building made of exposed concrete with six attached cubes made of opaque polycarbonate ...

office building 2226

The goals: The Crinolbau, in need of renovation, was to make way for a contemporary and economical replacement building that respects its historical s...

BaxBox

Heating system from biogenic fuels, smallest apartment 35m2, wooden construction, predominant use of insulating materials from renewable materials, av...

House Streckhof

At the beginning of the planning there were long discussions with the builders, site visits, studies to find the suitable place where the new member s...

House Baierl

The monolithic single-family house was built with 50 cm thick plane bricks. As a natural building material, they make the building durable....

House W

This residential house reflects the trend of monolithic construction in modern timber construction and shows that tradition and new developments can b...

House Aigner

The semi-detached house, which is situated on the Tennengebirge in Salzburgerland, was built in solid wood construction. It is insulated with wood fib...

House G

The desire of the owners, a family with two children, was to build simple and alpine in the best sense. The outer skin, the vertical, raw wood formwor...

Storchennest

The house in Kuchl consists of an insulated lightweight floor slab, the exterior timber frame walls, the room-dividing CLT structures and the prefabri...

Redevelopment Hallein

The gentle low-tech revitalization transformed the inhospitable old building into comfortable, contemporary living space in the middle of Hallein's hi...

House Maier

The monolithic single-family house made of wood sees itself as an attempt to question, break open and rethink the conventional. The narrow upward stri...

House Dornbirn

Plastered 50 bricks, oak, concrete, little steel, glass - high-quality materials and simple construction make the monolithic single-family house robus...

Agricultural college Tamsweg

The existing agricultural college with boarding school was extended by a boarding school extension with common and ancillary rooms as well as a gymnas...

Agricultural college Bruck

For the specialized training 'wood processing', the province of Salzburg needed a model workshop, which should be possible at each of the four agricul...

Projects from the category Low Tech

Sports hall Liefering

With the triple sports hall in Liefering, the city of Salzburg has a pilot project regarding Smart City Standard. As a plus-energy building, it was aw...

CO-livingSeeparq

Live, work, share: SEEPARQ combines everything under one roof. 55 freely financed condominiums with large balconies, freely designable apartment sizes...

Clay house Rauch

The Rauch residence is a model of modern earthen building. It was designed and built by the earthen building pioneer Martin Rauch and the architect Ro...

House of culture Kals

After the teardown of two existing buildings, the new culture house was built on a cramped building site on the Kalser Landesstraße. The construction ...

Passive house

Passive house in solid construction with concrete core activation and firewood stove: The heat supply is completely with renewable energy....

FUX in Karlsruhe

On the site of the former slaughterhouse in Karlsruhe's Oststadt district, the Festigungs- und Expansionszentrum, or FUX for short, has recently provi...

2226 residential

The building in Dornbirn shows a premiere: For the first time, a residential building was constructed according to the principles of the Energy Concep...

Refugium Seekirchen and Tamsweg

10 weeks after receipt of order ready for occupancy; modular construction; timber frame construction with rear-ventilated spruce facade; intermediate ...

Residential complex in Elsbethen

Each of the two apartment buildings in Elsbethen was built to passive house standards and has five apartments. These are heated with concrete energy s...

Building services Steiner

As a "SALZBURG 2050 partner company", Steiner building services has decided to act in a particularly climate- and energy-conscious manner. In 2017, a ...

office building Maschinenring

For the state headquarters of the machinery ring, the client wanted a constructive solid wood building of high energy efficiency with concrete core ac...

Der Stadtelefant

A new Gründerzeit - there is more building going on in Vienna than there has been in a long time. From the synergies of three architectural firms acti...

Cultural center Hallwang

The 400-guest multi-purpose hall was built in 2013 and serves the community for theater and music evenings, cabaret programs, balls and seminars. Spec...

Climbing hall Saalfelden

With the climbing hall felsenfest, one of the largest and most modern climbing halls in Austria opened in 2012. On 1,700 m² of climbing space, countle...

Primary school Hallwang

The compact structure is designed to clearly organize functions and spatial relationships. Due to the urban setting, the open areas of the kindergarte...

Agricultural college Bruck

For the specialized training 'wood processing', the province of Salzburg needed a model workshop, which should be possible at each of the four agricul...

Agricultural college Tamsweg

The existing agricultural college with boarding school was extended by a boarding school extension with common and ancillary rooms as well as a gymnas...

House Dornbirn

Plastered 50 bricks, oak, concrete, little steel, glass - high-quality materials and simple construction make the monolithic single-family house robus...

House Maier

The monolithic single-family house made of wood sees itself as an attempt to question, break open and rethink the conventional. The narrow upward stri...

Redevelopment Hallein

The gentle low-tech revitalization transformed the inhospitable old building into comfortable, contemporary living space in the middle of Hallein's hi...

Storchennest

The house in Kuchl consists of an insulated lightweight floor slab, the exterior timber frame walls, the room-dividing CLT structures and the prefabri...

House G

The desire of the owners, a family with two children, was to build simple and alpine in the best sense. The outer skin, the vertical, raw wood formwor...

House Aigner

The semi-detached house, which is situated on the Tennengebirge in Salzburgerland, was built in solid wood construction. It is insulated with wood fib...

House W

This residential house reflects the trend of monolithic construction in modern timber construction and shows that tradition and new developments can b...

House Baierl

The monolithic single-family house was built with 50 cm thick plane bricks. As a natural building material, they make the building durable....

House Streckhof

At the beginning of the planning there were long discussions with the builders, site visits, studies to find the suitable place where the new member s...

BaxBox

Heating system from biogenic fuels, smallest apartment 35m2, wooden construction, predominant use of insulating materials from renewable materials, av...

office building 2226

The goals: The Crinolbau, in need of renovation, was to make way for a contemporary and economical replacement building that respects its historical s...

Gusswerk

Relatively low-cost construction, flexibly usable areas, solid building made of exposed concrete with six attached cubes made of opaque polycarbonate ...

Rectory Bruck

The facade is made of sawed larch, which has been treated with a special glaze to anticipate the natural gray coloration....

Parish Seetal

The construction emphasizes constructive wood protection. The heating works fully solar by means of concrete core activation. The building was designe...

Kulturkraftwerk oh456

The plus-energy office building oh456 with attached small hydropower plant serves as a prototype for testing innovative technologies. The building wil...

5 Euro living

"NEUE HEIMAT TIROL" has built a €5 rental housing complex with 18 apartments and 10 carports in Schwaz. The architects' office "architectur studiosymb...

Straw house Bechter

The clients wanted a barrier-free, cost-effective and ecological house - so they came up with the idea of building it from straw. The architect design...

Catholic competence center Salzburg

The Caritas headquarters in Salzburg now accommodate around 100 employees. In addition to a counseling service, Friedensstraße now also houses the six...