Tiwag Headquarters – Innsbruck (Austria)

Tiwag Headquarters. A second chance for the past, a first step towards the future.

In Eduard Wallnöfer Platz, Innsbruck, stands a building covered in glass and steel, in complete aesthetic and philosophical harmony with the territory. It is the headquarters of Tiwag, www.tiwag.at, a hydropower company in the Tyrol region which produces and distributes electricity from renewable sources: hydroelectric, wind and solar.

In collaboration with Nord Zinc, for its headquarters Tiwag realised a project with very specific ethical lines, which, through a building, have shaped the concepts of eco-sustainability, energy conservation and conversion. Nord Zinc was commissioned to supply anticorrosive and aesthetic treatments for the metal structural parts: over 50 tons of materials, processed and delivered in just a few weeks. Nord Zinc applied the SISTEMA TRIPLEX® treatment to the steel structure, in its standard version for urban use in corrosion class C3, with a RAL 9006 coloured coating and H high durability (over 15 years). The aluminium sunscreens were treated with a powder coating, also for use in corrosion class C3, with the same durability. Tiwag enhances its green inspired values, supplying customer services for energy efficiency and electric mobility: Nord Zinc’s philosophy runs exactly along these lines, and was chosen both for its efficiency, and the consistency of its objectives. This sustainable perspective is embodied by the project itself, which has given the building a second life: the design project chose to maintain the existing building, covering it in a second skin of glass and steel, strong, durable and environmentally friendly in the long term. These ethical prerogatives are also reflected by the aesthetic features of the building: the glass façade reflect the profiles of the mountains overlooking the city, and extending them as far as the square. The beauty and power of nature encounter an urban landscape that welcomes and enhances its identity, a harmony designed by the architectural firm Puerstl Langmaier from Graz, www.plarchitekten.at. All this has been possible thanks to the use of the dry technology, which allows operations to take place in any atmospheric condition, reducing on-site processing and managing a neat and clean worksite. Thanks to the efficiency and punctuality of Nord Zinc, the Tyrolean square suffered the least possible impact on usability, in terms of timing and logistics, to the enormous satisfaction of the client.