11 Mar Larch bark insulation and larch facade
In the course of building our new house, we looked for the most innovative building materials possible and found what we were looking for at Günther Kain in Bad Goisern. Insulation materials made from larch bark have been tested in the laboratory, but have not yet been used to insulate houses. The start-up Barkinsulation from Hallein, which is run by graduates of the FH Salzburg, produced the larch bark insulation boards for us. We wanted to try out this new type of insulation material and test it in practice.
The concept of the thermal insulation solution focuses on tree bark. This renewable natural raw material source is refined in biophysical-thermal high-tech processes of the regional start-up Barkinsulation GmbH/Hallein into a recyclable and ecologically innovative material. Ecological bark board thermal insulation creates an optimal building biological climate through the unique combination of performance with experienced sustainability and natural aesthetics.
The tree bark from the regional timber industry is currently mostly thermally utilized. In natural high-tech processes, materials that can be used in a variety of ways are developed from this valuable raw material (“up-cycling”). A raw material perfected by nature is fed into a new cycle. Short transport routes based on regional production and unlimited recyclability promise an excellent building material. CO2 binding: 1 m3 bark binds approx. 1 ton of CO2.
The sustainable positioning of the Balthasar Volcano/St. Wolfgang in particular with the innovative Highlight of the cycleable, ecological high-tech thermal insulation of Barkinsulation GmbH/Hallein, wants to set impulses, to the new thinking energize and alternative ways point out. We inspire our guests with a unique and sustainable feel-good atmosphere. It is also exciting to see how inspired the media and the construction industry are to reflect on our ecological path.
The larch bark panels were installed by the company Appesbacher Holzbau. Since it is a prototype, of course, there was no experience about the processing of the material, but in the end, the larch bark facade gives a decent picture. The first empirical values were collected and Günther Kain was able to verify the data measured in the laboratory with regard to the insulation values.