When it was decided to enlarge the Alexander Langer School in the northern Italian town of Vipiteno, in the Trentino-Alto Adige region, designed by Delueg Architekten and built by LignoAlp, it was also decided to use solid wood not only because it is such an excellent building material, but also because its touch, smell and appearance have such a positive effect on people.

The warm, cozy environments that wood creates are ideal for a school, helping to keep pupils motivated and concentrating over the long hours they spend indoors.

The extension of the school, along with the revamp of the existing building, involved adding a floor to the original 1960s structure.

The building technique chosen by LignoAlp for both the structural and internal elements in solid wood did not require the use of glue or nails. Local pinewood was chosen, specifically from the San Vigilio di Marebbe area, using a local lunar calendar to determine the best days for felling the required wood.

For the external cladding, natural sawn larch wood was used. The placement of windows in the upper wooden floor mirrors the rhythm of the lower levels, producing a crowing element that is coherent for the entire structure, while also adding an elusive reference to the traditional building methods used in these parts.

Since wood is a renewable and sustainable material, for which LignoAlp can also provide engineering services, it is a key material for the building industry as it really is one of the most effective and cheapest ways to help protect the climate. For example, wood stores large quantities of carbon throughout its lifecycle, actively contributing to a reduction of CO₂ emissions into the atmosphere.