Glued laminated wood construction on the beach in Mamaia

When he told me they were going to build by the sea, right on the beach in Mamaia, Christof also sent me the exact location on Google Maps. I didn't want to miss the opportunity to see the Schweiz Technik in action and at the same time see Mamaia again after many years.

I met Christof Krattiger in Brasov at the Expowood. He is Swiss, who came to Romania to follow his father and his passion. Their name is linked to Technical Switzerland, a company founded by Christof's father, specialising in the production of glued laminated timber, design and construction using this material. Don't imagine a Swiss banker who has exhausted all the investment opportunities in the world and, in the absence of others, has chosen Romania as his future financial business. No. The man is the kind of passionate carpenter. If you don't believe me, watch the video at the end. The one at the top, at the very top, making the beams line up perfectly is Simon Krattiger, Christof's father. Incidentally, they were both very involved in the whole process.

At Expowood we were neighbours at the stand, we ate together, we made friends, Christof being the direct and friendly type, the one who comes to you with a bagel because he sees you tired and not hungry.🙂 I then decided to pay them a visit at Voiteg, in Timiș, to see them at work. But before I got to them, he informed me that they had a job in Mamaia. I was really looking forward to the opportunity!

The GPS took me as far north as Nuba Beach Club. I arrived at a time when everyone seemed to be gearing up for the start of the season and everyone around me was delivering everything from furniture to palm trees. It wasn't hard for me to find the people at Technique Schweiz. Knocking on wood, similar to beating on a drum, led me to them. When I arrived, 3 days after the start of the assembly, the work was almost finished. They are very well organized and efficient. Incidentally, Christof told me that they received the contract only 3 weeks ago. The owner was in a hurry and imposed a very short deadline. The production capacity they had allowed them to execute within the required time, but they accepted the job only after making sure that the suppliers could secure the raw material in such a short time. In the relationship between architects, engineers and beneficiaries, Technique sees itself as both supplier and consultant, offering project support and engineering and design expertise. To me the story seemed to work with Swiss watch precision.

Glued laminated timber is renowned for quality construction with superior strength properties and is perfect for exposed vaulted ceilings.

The project involved the construction of a large span exterior structure that would cover a large space without the need for intermediate support columns. Given both the location and the final destination, a construction with a contemporary aesthetic and a strong visual impact was required. Glued laminated timber came as the solution for this work, offering a combination of structural and aesthetic attributes. It is a quality building material, light, flexible, with high load-bearing capacity, easy to assemble and in a short time. In addition, there was a need for a material that would successfully meet the challenges of a wet and aggressive environment such as the seaside. Schweitz Engineering carried out the design of the wooden elements and the necessary fittings, the production of the complete assembly kit and the erection/assembly of the entire structure on site. For 3 weeks they worked from Monday to Saturday to get everything ready before assembly. And the high degree of prefabrication and preparation of the timber meant that their time on site was also very short.

To design the structure they used Cadwork, a 3D-CAD/CAM software for timber construction.

Cadwork is used in the design and production of wooden structures, framing and joinery. For this reason, it has specific tools that a designer, architect or carpenter must use in his projects. The most common operations in this type of construction (joints, solutions, construction details) are incorporated in Cadwork as intuitive tools and catalogues to design any 3D model.

The software is a flexible solution that covers every stage of a project, from design to site management, from modelling to cutting. With Cadwork and the ability to interface with other applications and machines, production processes can be automated by sending data directly to CNC-controlled machining machines and assembly lines.

Technical details of the construction

I leave you with what I filmed during my visit.