ABSTRACT
The western Austrian province of Vorarlberg is an important locus for research on the sustainability of building practices, including the possibilities of modern wood construction; in this vein, teams of architects, engineers, and manufacturers have been collaborating in recent years to produce innovative design work that is built using prefabricated timber components. Indeed, while it may seem that a municipal storage facility would not be the first place that one thinks of going to in search of such architectural innovation, the hanging timber roof over the public works yard in Hohenems by architect Reinhard Drexel and structural engineers Merz, Kaufmann und Partner makes this particular building a noteworthy exception to the rule.
