Success Story · Housing Cooperative
Timber or hybrid? ABZ knows the price of 20 % less CO₂ at the preliminary design stage.
-20 %greenhouse gas emissions with timber construction
+5 %construction costs compared with hybrid
3construction methods compared
The starting point
Allgemeine Baugenossenschaft Zürich is replacing its Siedlung Kanzlei estate and creating more than 50 additional apartments. The construction method had to meet the City of Zurich's housing subsidy requirements. The key question: how much does timber construction save, and what does it cost?
The result
- Three construction methods compared on the 3D model: a hybrid design (solid load-bearing structure, timber façade) and two timber variants, with a focus on the floor slabs.
- Emissions and embodied energy calculated automatically for every variant.
- A clear trade-off instead of gut feeling: timber construction causes around 20 % less greenhouse gas emissions, while construction costs are around 5 % higher.
- The basis for further planning is in place, already at the preliminary design stage.
Beyond the project
In use on further ABZ projects since Kanzlei- 1Existing stockRenovate or replace?
Options from partial renovation to replacement new build can be compared on the same basis.
- 2SubsidiesRequirements under control early
Key figures for subsidy and sustainability requirements are available before the design is fixed.
- 3PortfolioRenewal with a plan
The projects in your own portfolio become comparable using consistent key figures.
«Thanks to vyzn, we were able to examine detailed scenarios affecting greenhouse gases and embodied energy at the preliminary design stage, which gave us as the client an information advantage and a solid basis for our decisions.»