The sliding hardware seals it

The new headquarters of the Kostner Group in Vahrn/South Tyrol is in the middle of an industrial estate between the dual carriageway and the motorway. The architecture represents a counterpoint in this situation. A green oasis was created, which more than fulfilled the high ecological and social responsibility demands of the builder. The new office building provides the people who work here with an optimum environment: clean air, tranquility and flexible room structures.

Berlin architects Partner und Partner designed a building with an active climate in a cube shape. The exterior of the five-story building made from solid wood, which can bind 500 tons of CO2, has a weather-resistant façade with controlled charring, which is the revival of an old Japanese wood-preserving technique. The building withstands the extreme external influences with a topping consisting of green plants: This provides cooling, protection from the sun and also filters out fine dust.

The sustainable approach is continued in the interior. Numerous visible surfaces show the importance of the building material wood. The loam rendering and the dry screed also provide a healthy indoor climate. The fact that the opaque door elements were produced from the offcuts of the cross-laminated timber walls is evidence of the conscious use of the raw materials. The flexible layout structure makes easy and reversible adaptation to changes with regard to the way of working, the use of space and the additions to the workforce.
 

Differentiation from the standard

Roland Giuliani is responsible for a significant part of the development. “As far as I am concerned, it is always about differentiating myself from the standard”, explains the bustling and creatively planning craftsman and furnishing consultant from Brixen, who has been working as an independent consultant since 2009 and established the “Plan Fuenf” (“Plan Five”) company in 2015. Special requirements have always been more of a challenge to him than a deterrent, according to Giuliani.

A special situation such as this arose in the reception area of the Kostner Group’s new office building: The entrance takes you into a two-story open foyer with a central atrium as a meeting area with intersecting staircases. There is a considerable amount of public traffic here, and the employees need to be able to communicate with each other across the floors – all accompanied by an appropriate amount of background noise.

However, there are offices immediately behind the reception desk. The atmosphere is changing all the time. On the one hand, the employees need visual contact with the entrance and the staircases, and want to be ready to communicate with visitors and co-workers. On the other hand, they need to be able to concentrate on their work in a relaxed atmosphere. If necessary, it must therefore be possible to block themselves off from the noise in the atrium and protect themselves from the drafts which blow in via the sliding doors in reception, particularly during the winter.

For Roland Giuliani and the joiners from the Brunner joinery in Freienfeld, it was a case of creating transparent and tightly sealing door elements in accordance with the architect’s specifications and the requirements of the builder which could be flexibly opened and closed without getting in the way in the confined spaces, or taking up additional room. “The intention was always to achieve this using a sliding door”, explains Giuliani. “However, I had my doubts about whether it was actually possible to achieve the acoustic effectiveness that the customer wanted using a sliding hardware.”

“Hawa Acoustics”

With “Hawa Junior Acoustics” and “Hawa Porta Acoustics”, Hawa Sliding Solutions AG has developed two sliding hardware systems with optimized, all-round sealing. They ensure that the noise situation from room to room is noticeably reduced when the door is closed, even by up to 41 decibels with the “Hawa Junior Acoustics”. This effect, which has mostly only believed to be possible using hinged doors until now, predestines the systems for numerous applications in which space-saving also plays a part.

The “Hawa Acoustics” systems move doors weighing up to 100 kilograms easily and quietly with their sliding characteristics and the force deflection of the horizontal seal. “Hawa Junior Acoustics” and “Hawa Porta Acoustics” can both be implemented as a wall-mounted or pocket solution with identical sets, and also in floor-to-ceiling sliding doors. The fabricator can install the doors even after construction is complete, and adjust them later at any time.

The “Hawa Junior 100 B” which was used in Vahrn is designed for passage dimensions of 1.25 m wide and 2.50 m high. It has ball bearing-mounted running gears which provide quiet and comfortable sliding. The door is braked over the last few centimeters when it is closed. The horizontal seals are then released via a ramp. The silicone seal at the bottom can also compensate for unevenness. The vertical seals are attached to the door leaf, and run onto a frame or profile.

Photos: Oliver Jaist Photography, Vahrn