10/2021

Loss of the alpine building culture

What are the peculiarities of the rural wood building tradition, an architecture without designers? How can decisions be made based on existing buildings? How can solutions develop from the existing?

Anselm Kranebitter

Diploma in Architecture

E251-2 – Denkmalpflege und Bauen im Bestand

Supervisor: Nott Caviezel

Temporary repairs do not ensure preservation – 47.315879, 13.173685

The present work tries to draw attention to a ’grievance’ – the loss of the alpine building culture. But what is the basis of this building culture? One could say: in the landscape-bound anonymous building a ”harmony of the parts in a whole” (1). What would the Salzburg house landscape be without its ”fabulous wooden buildings” (2) in this ”pleasantly structured landscape” (3). Unfortunately increasingly plagued by ’losses’ it is important to tie in with this ’landscape’, to knit it further and not to get rid of yours. Without exact knowledge of the wood no adequate timber construction can be established. Thus, since time immemorial, farmers have known about the properties of wood and its specifics ”knowing wood as if it were a good friend” (4) not just a passing acquaintance. Erect the beams to a house, as your ancestors did, and the built will be of great duration.

Woven into personal experiences, an attempt is made to formulate guiding principles for the considerate treatment of this building substance. Twelve and a half virtues which are supposed to convey didactic suggestions – marking, as it were, cornerstones of free creation and design, thus leaving room for manoeuvre, but still formulating limits. It is necessary to preserve these heirs of the past and at the same time to accept their simple constructions marked by craftsmanship and individuality. To rediscover the value of the space and to learn its traditional use. To keep necessary technical fixtures to a minimum. To continue to construct buildings coherently in order to preserve them, while minimising the subjective spirit of the times and constructing them honestly. Only through constant care and the will to conserve will the building be able to last for a long time. All actions are to be documented at all times.

References:
(1) Alberti, Leon Baptist. Zehn Bücher über Baukunst. Neuntes Buch: Über die Privatbauten. 1452. P.18.
(2) Pöttler, Viktor Herbert. Alte Volksarchitektur. Graz: 1975. P.95.
(3) Ibid.
(4) Häußerman, Ulrich. Holz und bauende Hand. Stuttgart: 1962. P.11.

The present work tries to draw attention to a ’grievance’ – the loss of the alpine building culture. But what is the basis of this building culture? One could say: in the landscape-bound anonymous building a ”harmony of the parts in a whole” (1). What would the Salzburg house landscape be without its ”fabulous wooden buildings” (2) in this ”pleasantly structured landscape” (3). Unfortunately increasingly plagued by ’losses’ it is important to tie in with this ’landscape’, to knit it further and not to get rid of yours. Without exact knowledge of the wood no adequate timber construction can be established. Thus, since time immemorial, farmers have known about the properties of wood and its specifics ”knowing wood as if it were a good friend” (4) not just a passing acquaintance. Erect the beams to a house, as your ancestors did, and the built will be of great duration.

Woven into personal experiences, an attempt is made to formulate guiding principles for the considerate treatment of this building substance. Twelve and a half virtues which are supposed to convey didactic suggestions – marking, as it were, cornerstones of free creation and design, thus leaving room for manoeuvre, but still formulating limits. It is necessary to preserve these heirs of the past and at the same time to accept their simple constructions marked by craftsmanship and individuality. To rediscover the value of the space and to learn its traditional use. To keep necessary technical fixtures to a minimum. To continue to construct buildings coherently in order to preserve them, while minimising the subjective spirit of the times and constructing them honestly. Only through constant care and the will to conserve will the building be able to last for a long time. All actions are to be documented at all times.