In the romantic heart of the Altmühl Valley, between the glittering river and green hills, the old bishopric town of Eichstätt is investing in its future. Since 2012, an entire new district has been under construction on a former railway site directly on the riverbank. The Herzog-Anger residential complex in the Spitalstadt district is already occupied. From spacious terraces, residents can enjoy the view of the enchanting landscape. And with nature beneath their feet – decking from NaturinForm. The future apartment owners were able to decide for themselves how the flooring for their loggia or balcony should look.

Eichstätt residents are accustomed to living in harmony with nature. The city is surrounded by greenery: the verdant banks of the Altmühl River, the botanical garden at Willibaldsburg Castle, the wooded Jurassic cliffs with the famous archaeological sites from the dinosaur era. "Without wood, it simply wouldn't have worked in this environment," says Thomas Göbel, Elements Consultant at Martin Meier GmbH.

The company is the client and construction contractor for 6,600 of the total 25,000 square meters of building land. Master carpenter Göbel was responsible for the construction details: windows, doors, gates – and the design of the terraces.

The open-air rooms, with up to 55 square meters of space, are essential to the way people live in the hospital town: To avoid obstructing the view into the distance, the new urban area was deliberately planned with a generous amount of space. A mix of apartment buildings and office buildings, located on wide, open squares, with the streets in between serving as broad visual axes. Residents are intended to be able to enjoy the view of the castle, the old town, and the Altmühl River from their terraces in full and unobstructed fashion. To create a particularly inviting and homely feel, all terraces from the first to the fourth floor were to be covered with floorboards.

Built for the highest demands

The Eichstätt-based company Meier is responsible for the new neighborhoods around Franz-Xaver-Platz. Construction began in 2012, and the first residents moved in in 2014. Two of the four sites developed by Meier are dedicated to office and retail architecture, and two to high-quality residential construction. Sophisticated design for discerning clients. "We have to be able to guarantee that the materials will still look as fresh after a few winters as they did when they were moved in," says Göbel.

This is how the materials specialist came up with NaturinForm. What makes the wood processor's floorboards special is that the naturally beautiful wood fibers are combined with an environmentally friendly polymer. This additional component not only makes the natural product significantly more slip-resistant and barefoot-friendly than bare wood, but also prevents moisture from penetrating. NaturinForm floorboards are and remain weatherproof without the need for varnishing or oiling. Maintenance simply requires a hose-down cleaning of the surface.

Completely natural from the outside

From Göbel's perspective, a clear advantage of NaturinForm products is their high wood content. At 70 percent, wood is the visually dominant component, and the finished material is almost indistinguishable from bare wood. "The matte surface, the colors – it looks just like traditional floorboards," says Göbel. "NaturinForm was the solution that particularly impressed us visually."

Cheers to diversity

The future homeowners could decide for themselves what kind of flooring their terrace should look like. With the NaturinForm range, the developer was able to offer them a wide selection – another key advantage of NaturinForm, according to Göbel.

The NaturinForm range includes seven different floorboard types in countless color variations and a wide variety of surfaces. In Eichstätt, Popular massive was particularly popular with future residents: It is available in 13 different colors and, with a length of up to 13 meters, a thickness of 26 mm, and a reversible surface with various grooves, makes it particularly versatile. A completely new addition to the range is Popular massive, with a natural, corrugated surface with a wood-grained texture.

Space-saving solution

In total, the Eichstätt-based residential construction company Meier installed 80 terraces ranging in size from 10 to 55 square meters. In their search for a space-saving solution for these areas, which should not be too tall due to the underlying insulation, the choice often fell Rationelle: It is only 21 millimeters high. In addition to a classic, ribbed side, it also has a side with block stripes. A special eye-catcher that fits well with the clean, modern lines of Eichstätt's houses.

Environmentally friendly construction

The city of Eichstätt placed great emphasis on environmentally friendly construction in the hospital town. The new houses meet the Energy Efficiency House Standard 70 and 55, respectively. This is in keeping with the fact that NaturinForm manufactures its decking according to strict ecological principles: Only PEFC-certified wood from ecologically managed forests is used. Unlike conventional wood flooring, NaturinForm decking does not require the use of environmentally harmful chemicals for maintenance; clean water is sufficient for cleaning. Furthermore, the decking boards are 100% recyclable and can be returned to the factory in Redwitz, Upper Franconia, for this purpose. The company offers a five-year guarantee on its products.