New approach to temple construction in Austria

Close to the romantic Grafenegg Palace in Lower Austria, the domed building of a Buddhist shrine is currently under construction. Even though the list of unusual buildings in which MC products have been used is long, this project is something special.
The shrine or “stupa” is nestled in the gentle hills of the traditional Wagram wine-growing region. After its completion, it will be the largest stupa in Europe with a diameter of 30 m and a height of 33 m. The stupa is a symbol of peace, where all people, regardless of their denomination, are invited to experience calming silence and reflection. According to traditional Buddhist teaching, it brings happiness to all those who see it, circle it clockwise, or meditate in its vicinity.

 

The building project, planned and executed exclusively with private funds of the Stupa Institute under the direction of the Buddhist monk and scholar Bop Jon Sunim, began in 2018. The tower-like central section is surrounded by three accessible floors and consists of bricks, adobe plaster, concrete and lime from the region. The dome and the spire are timber-supported. The construction reflects the intention to "defuse the forces of chaos and negativity, and generally express spirituality, wisdom, love and compassion for humanity and all living things", as stated by the funding body.

The right release agent for a perfect finish

The exterior of the temple of peace is a central element of this extraordinary architecture. For the structure, the three levels are traditionally built one after the other in a clockwise direction from bottom to top. Here, very high demands were placed on the concrete appearance of the balcony balustrades and the banisters. Consequently, instead of in-situ concrete, high-quality precast elements were used. These were manufactured by Franz Seidl & Sohn GmbH of Altweitra in Austria, a company known for high-quality concrete components made from ecologically sound raw materials. Working together with MC, the company developed a special concept to achieve the desired concrete finish on the back of a high-performance release agent. The decision was made to use Ortolan Extra 732, a specially formulated separation oil from MC that is particularly suitable for achieving attractive fair-faced concrete surfaces.

 

White fair-faced concrete cosmetics instead of paint

The balustrades of the building were originally to be finished with a white paint. In the end, however, the client followed MC's recommendation to uprate their appearance with fair-faced concrete cosmetics, with impressive results ensuing from the use of white Emcefix-Spachtel F lang filler compound. The surface, which had been optimised by hand, was now visually better suited to the adobe-plastered walls, allowing the concept of purely mineral surfaces to be retained. And there was the added advantage that the originally planned painting stage could be scrapped.