Mauerbach Charterhouse - 10 Years of Renovation Works for the Historical Monuments Department
The charterhouse was founded in 1313 by Frederick the Handsome as a foundation and today counts as one of the most important heritage preservation sites, not only in Austria but also intemationally. The key factors for this are the situation of the restora­tion workshops of the Austrian Historical Monuments Oepartment, and the numerous corresponding special­ist events and exhibitions held at the site, as weil as the painstaking renovation and refurbishment of the his tori­cal building which has been ongoing since 1983, with PORR AG -Revitalisierung involved in the realisation of this project for over ten years. International interest and the accompanying heightened sensitivity of the Austrian Historical Monuments Oepart­ment have meant that several construction tasks can not be carried out with common modern technology because of considerations related to historical preser­vation regulations. Finding a compromise between con­forming to these conditions and achieving a sustainable execution that promises both quality and a long life therefore constantly requires new technical applications be used. The experience of the last decade has shown us that not all cutting-edge materials and construction technol­ogies are equally good, neither are all "outdated" sys­tems necessarily bad. In order to combine profitability, sustainability and aesthetics, we had to utilise the full potential of the technical options from both worlds. Without reinventing the wheel, the synergy between old and new yielded a vast pool of specific solutions.