Social Housing Via Cenni

Design: The housing complex Via Cenni set itself ambitious goals. Following the idea of the European city of short distances, the complex is home to a variety of uses and generous green spaces. A neighborhood manager is supporting an active community of residents proud of their eighborhood. The apartments are affordable for families (two to four rooms for a rent of 500 to 1000 €) and add urgently needed new housing units to the growing metropolitan area. This was made possible by the investor lowering their yield expectations and adding no speculation, also because the city gave the plot of land for free.

Wood: The main challenges for building the highrise could be met with the use of wood. The residential towers and the connection buildings were exclusively built with cross-laminated timber, with the exception of the underground level. Next to the structural system, the staircase and elevator cores are also made with wood. Only after a government commission of the central national building authority had positively evaluated the structural stability of the project in a seismically active area, the building permission was issued. Using prefabricated timber modules, the construction time of the building shell was, at the same costs, reduced by half compared to conventional methods.

Energy: The thermal properties of cross-laminated timber as well as the chosen house technique helped the complex reach the low energybuilding standard CENED A.