New release
Pioneers of Timber Construction: Hermann Kaufmann Architekten
The lower station of the Nebelhorn cable car in Oberstdorf, © Oberstdorf Kleinwalsertal Bergbahnen
In an interview, Hermann Kaufmann once said “We must promote the decarbonization of the construction industry. Renewable resources such as wood are part of the solution.” Just how we can reduce CO2 emissions is shown in Hermann Kaufmann Architekten. Architecture and Construction Details, a monograph recently published by Edition Detail. The book documents the comprehensive work of the Vorarlberg timber-construction pioneer and his experienced team with sample projects, interviews and essays. It focuses on the studio’s extraordinary expertise and shows groundbreaking buildings with climate-friendly architecture.
The documentation of the wooden parkade in Bad Aibling by HK Architekten can be found in the monograph Hermann Kaufmann Architekten. Architecture and Construction Details, Edition Detail, Munich. © Detail
Multistorey wooden constructions
The ten documented projects realized by Hermann Kaufmann and the HK Architekten studio over the past 20 years include buildings of various typologies and sizes, such as the wooden parkade in Bad Aibling and the Wagner office building in the Austrian town of Nüziders. Particularly in the area of multistorey wooden structures, the projects constantly push the boundaries of what is feasible, as in the Brock Commons student residence Tallwood House in Vancouver. The project documentations feature descriptions, site plans, layouts, editing and construction details with illustrative legends. Furthermore, they contain construction-related information and provide targeted insight into the processes of planning and building.
Student projects
Hermann Kaufmann comes from a family of carpenters in the Bregenz Forest. Until 2021, he directed the professorship for timber construction and design at the Faculty of Architecture at the Technical University of Munich. He has taught generations of students and conveyed to them his specialist knowledge about wood-based architecture and his passion for this renewable resource.
Student projects in Africa. © Detail
He has organized student projects in Kenya, Tanzania and other African countries. For instance, he worked with German and local students to build a trade school in Nairobi. This aspect of Kaufmann’s work – the projects based on student design and construction – is addressed in the essay by Stefan Krötsch. Richly illustrated, the essay takes readers on a journey into the practical implementation processes behind the projects.
Hermann Kaufmann Architekten. Architecture and Construction Details, 10 projects, numerous drawings and photos, Editor: Sandra Hofmeister, Edition Detail, Munich, 2023. © Detail
In the closing interview, Kaufmann summarizes his view of the future of timber construction: “The public and political interest in timber construction has increased dramatically over the past few years, and the number of pertinent publications is growing. At the same time, there are more and more compelling wood-based buildings that prove the diverse possibilities of modern wood-based architecture. This has created the best possible conditions for an optimistic look into the future.”
The monograph is now available in bookstores or directly from the Detail Shop. The Manual of Multi Storey Timber Construction, published by Hermann Kaufmann, Stefan Krötsch and Stefen Winter, is also available in the Detail Shop.
Hermann Kaufmann Architekten. Architecture and Construction Details, 10 projects, numerous drawings and photos,
Editor: Sandra Hofmeister
Edition Detail, Munich
Languages: German, English
Year of publication: 2023
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