Lehm Ton Erde wins Austria’s 2026 architecture client award

Lehm Ton Erde Baukunst has won Austria’s 2026 Bauherrenpreis, or building client award, for its production hall and office building in Schlins. The jury praised the project, designed by Martin Rauch, for demonstrating the range of modern rammed-earth construction, ORF reported.

The company’s production hall is used to prefabricate rammed-earth components by compacting soil in formwork. Its own buildings also show how the construction method can be used in larger structures, with rammed earth combined with different timber techniques.

The jury highlighted self-supporting earth walls 10 metres high and a lift shaft made of earth. The buildings also use earth and clay to store heat. The project tests construction methods for which there is still relatively little experience and, in some cases, no certification.

The jury also praised the design, saying the combination of earth, timber and steel gave the buildings an unusually high level of architectural quality for an industrial project.

Planning and construction responsibilities are brought together within the company, rather than divided among clients, designers and contractors. The jury said this allowed decisions about materials, construction, costs and future operation to be developed jointly.

The Schlins project was one of six winners and the only one from Vorarlberg. A total of 132 projects were submitted, with 23 shortlisted. The award, presented by the Central Association of Austrian Architects, recognises clients who enable exceptional architectural solutions.