Privacy Policy – Alpine Building Centre 

Protecting your personal data and handling it with care is a key concern for the Alpine Building Centre. We treat the personal data entrusted to us as strictly confidential and process it exclusively on the basis of the applicable legal provisions, in particular the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR; German: DSGVO) and the Austrian Data Protection Act (Datenschutzgesetz; DSG). 

We would therefore like to inform you about the processing of personal data carried out by us, including its nature, scope, and purposes, as well as your related rights. 

This Privacy Policy reflects the applicable legal situation at any given time. We expressly reserve the right to make future changes or adjustments. We therefore recommend that you check this section of our website regularly to stay up to date on any changes in the processing of personal data. 

We are supported by various processors when processing your personal data. Our processors may not use data for their own purposes and, by entering into data processing agreements, are bound by the GDPR. 

The joint controllers responsible for the processing operations listed below are 

University of Applied Sciences Salzburg GmbH 
Urstein Süd 1 
5412 Puch/Salzburg 
Austria 

Contact person: 
FH-Prof. Arch. Dipl.-Ing. Dr. Michael Grobbauer 
+43 50 2211-2714 
michael.grobbauer@fh-salzburg.ac.at 

and 

iSPACE plus GmbH 
Schillerstraße 25 
5020 Salzburg 
Austria 

Contact person: 
Dr. Thomas Prinz 
+43 662 908585-213 
thomas.prinz@ispaceplus.at 

A joint contact point for both controllers is: 

Alpine Building Research and Transfer Centre 
Director: FH-Prof. Arch. Dipl.-Ing. Dr. Michael Grobbauer 
Deputy Director: Dr. Thomas Prinz 
www.alpinesbauen.at 
office@alpinesbauen.at 

1. Disclaimer

All content on the websites and information systems authored and maintained by Alpine Building Research and Transfer Centre (University of Applied Sciences Salzburg GmbH & iSPACE plus GmbH), including any information contained therein, whether in the form of text, graphics, images, design, source code, or other formats, is and remains the property of Alpine Building Research and Transfer Centre and is protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights, including trademark, design, and patent rights, usage rights, or other proprietary rights and applicable laws. 

The content of these pages may not be modified, reproduced, distributed, published, sent, or transmitted in any form without the prior written permission of Alpine Building Research and Transfer Centre. For personal, non-commercial use, the content may be downloaded, printed, and shared, provided that it remains unchanged. All copies of the content or excerpts from these pages must include all proprietary notices of Alpine Building Research and Transfer Centre and any copyright, authors’ rights, trademark, design, patent, and other rights of the respective rights holders. 

Commercial use or distribution is permitted only with the prior written authorization of Alpine Building Research and Transfer Centre. 

The creation and distribution of modified, expanded, abridged, or translated content is permitted only with the prior written authorization of Alpine Building Research and Transfer Centre. 

You are permitted to create hyperlinks to these pages of Alpine Building Research and Transfer Centre, but you are also required to clearly indicate the differences between your information and that of Alpine Building Research and Transfer Centre. The pages of Alpine Building Research and Transfer Centre may not appear as part of your own website. 

These pages contain links to third-party websites over which Alpine Building Research and Transfer Centre has no control and for whose content, in particular its legal compliance, Alpine Building Research and Transfer Centre accepts no liability. If any of these links are deactivated, appear incorrect or inappropriate, or if any other issues arise in connection with the maintained pages of Alpine Building Research and Transfer Centre, please notify us. 

2. Privacy Policy for This Website

2.1 Website Visitors 

When you visit our website, the processing of personal data is technically necessary in order to display the website to you and to ensure its stability and security. This supports the traceability of errors and sustainable error remediation. In addition, processing serves to improve the quality and further develop the website, enhance user-friendliness, prevent and remedy unlawful use of website content, and perform statistical analyses. 

The following personal data are transmitted by your browser to our server and stored in so-called log files: 

  • IP address used 
  • date and time of access 
  • website of the incoming request (source/referrer from which you accessed the site) 

The legal basis for processing the data and the log files is the joint controllers’ overriding legitimate interest (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR) in ensuring the functionality and security of the website. 

The data are deleted as soon as they are no longer necessary to achieve the purpose for which they were collected, but no later than 90 days. 

2.2 Cookies 

General 

Our website uses so-called cookies. Cookies are small text files that are stored on your computer with the help of your browser. They are downloaded by your internet browser the first time you visit a website. When you visit this website again using the same device, the cookie and the information stored in it are either sent back to the website that created it (first-party cookie) or sent to another website to which it belongs (third-party cookie). This allows the website to recognize that it has been accessed before with this browser and, in some cases, to vary the content displayed. 

In general, cookies are used to provide users with additional functionality on a website, for example to make it easier to navigate the website or to store preferences (language settings or similar). Cookies cannot access, read, or modify any other data on your computer. 

With regard to storage duration, a distinction is made between so-called session cookies, which are automatically deleted when you leave our website, and persistent cookies, which remain stored on your computer until you delete them manually in your browser. 

2.2.2 Necessary Cookies 

Strictly necessary cookies enable functions without which you cannot use this website as intended and are required to operate the website. The collection and use of personal data in connection with such necessary cookies is based on the joint controllers’ overriding legitimate interest (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR) in the functionality and proper provision of our website. 

The following necessary cookies are used on this website: 

Name PurposeDuration Type Provider 
catAccCookies Stores your consent to the use of cookies30 days HTML Website (https://alpinesbauen.at) 

3. Google Services on This Website 

3.1 YouTube Videos 

Our website uses YouTube to embed videos. In Europe, this service is provided by Google Ireland Ltd (Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland). 

The YouTube videos are embedded using enhanced privacy mode. As a result, YouTube does not automatically store information about website visitors; it does so only after visitors start playing a video with a second click. By using YouTube videos, we do not process any additional data. If you click a video, YouTube’s website is loaded and, as a result, Google processes your data (for example your IP address and the fact that the video is played). YouTube also uses cookies to collect information about your usage behavior. If you are logged into YouTube, this information is also associated with your user account. You can prevent this by logging out of YouTube before playing the video. According to information provided by YouTube, this is used, among other things, to compile video statistics, improve user-friendliness, and prevent abusive behavior. 

YouTube may process your data in the United States. The Court of Justice of the European Union has held that, due to existing security laws, data transfers to the United States do not provide a level of protection that is adequate under EU standards. In particular, there is a risk that U.S. authorities may access your data for control and surveillance purposes. 

The forwarding to YouTube’s website via the two-click solution takes place only with your consent (Article 6(1)(a) GDPR), which you provide by actively starting the video. This consent also includes your agreement that, as a result of being forwarded to YouTube’s website, your data will be processed in the United States even though there are no suitable safeguards in place to ensure an adequate level of data protection (Article 49(1)(a) GDPR). 

We have no knowledge of, and no influence over, YouTube’s collection and use of your data. For further information, please refer to YouTube’s or Google’s privacy policy. 

https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en 

4. Business and Project Partners 

In the context of business relationships and projects (for example R&D projects), we process our partners’ personal data. 

We process the personal data of our business and project partners (clients, cooperation partners, funding agencies) for the purpose of cooperation, initiating and maintaining the contractual relationship, and carrying out projects. 

The following personal data are processed: company data (company name, contact details, address), data of contact persons (name, contact details, role), business- or project-related data and documents including application-related documents, case-specific content of the business relationship, and billing-relevant data. 

In addition, we use your contact details to send you information about current topics, activities, and events of Alpine Building Centre. This processing is based on the joint controllers’ overriding legitimate interest in exchanging information about current projects, events, and services (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR). You may object to this processing for marketing purposes at any time by contacting the joint controllers. 

Providing and processing your personal data is voluntary and is not required by law or contract. However, data processing is necessary for entering into a specific contract or for carrying out or participating in a project; without the provision of the relevant data, no contractual relationship can be established. 

We store your personal data for as long as the business relationship exists, as long as it is necessary to achieve the intended purpose, or as long as statutory or contractual retention periods apply. For example, tax-relevant data are retained for 7 years; many funding agreements typically contain retention obligations of 10 years. 

Depending on the specific design of a project, personal data of your company and, where applicable, your employees may be transferred to jointly selected project partners or funding agencies and processed by them. This may also involve a transfer of your data to a third country. Due to legal obligations, we may, in certain cases, have to forward your personal data to authorities and other bodies, such as the Ministry of Science, Statistics Austria, the Salzburg Ethics Committee, the Transparency Database, and similar entities. You will be informed about the specific disclosures as part of the respective project. 

For technical support, we use various IT service providers. In doing so, our processors may, in certain cases, have access to your personal data (for example for support requests or cloud storage). 

5. Data Protection Information for Events 

5.1 Event Registration and Participation 

Alpine Building Centre processes the personal data you provide when registering (for example name, company, email address, phone number) as well as any personal data that may be generated during the event, for the purpose of processing your registration and holding the event. This includes, among other things, sending information about the schedule, any changes, and event-related materials. 

Processing is carried out on the basis of the (pre-)contractual relationship relating to your participation in the event (Article 6(1)(b) GDPR). 

In addition, we use your contact details to send you information about similar events. This processing is based on Alpine Building Centre’s overriding legitimate interest in exchanging information about current events and offerings (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR). You may object to this processing for marketing purposes at any time. 

If a workshop is held by external speakers, we will forward your personal data to them. 

Your personal data are stored for as long as they are necessary to achieve the respective purpose (for example 7 years for accounting-relevant data, for the duration of active subscriptions to the information service). 

5.2 Image and Video Recordings During the Event 

As part of workshops, Alpine Building Centre may create image and video recordings on the basis of an overriding legitimate interest in documenting, reporting on, and publishing information about the event (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR). 

By registering for and voluntarily participating in the event, participants acknowledge that the partners of Alpine Building Centre have the right, free of charge, to use the image recordings listed above for PR and marketing purposes without any time, geographic, or content restrictions. This includes use in edited form and with or without naming, in print and online, for publication on their own public website, on their social media pages (for example Facebook, Twitter, Instagram), in publications of Alpine Building Centre (for example campus newspaper, annual report), and for press releases. 

As part of this processing, the photos may, where relevant, be shared with various service providers (for example printing companies, media owners, etc.). 

Selected image and audio recordings of the event referenced above are archived for as long as the partners of Alpine Building Centre continue to exist, for the purpose of presenting the event. The remaining recordings are deleted promptly after the event. 
Email: office@ispaceplus.at

6. Data Protection Information in the Context of the Alpine Building Centre Project of University of Applied Sciences Salzburg GmbH and iSPACE plus GmbH 

6.1 General Information About the Project 

As part of its research activities, Alpine Building Centre processes the personal data specified below. These data are obtained from public databases or from energy suppliers’ databases and are aggregated. 
The categories of data subjects affected by the handling of their personal data include the following groups: 
Owners and principal tenants of all buildings in the State of Salzburg. 
Because personal data are processed as part of the analyses, you will find below all information that we, Alpine Building Centre, are required to provide under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), acting on behalf of the cooperation partners University of Applied Sciences Salzburg GmbH and iSPACE plus GmbH as joint controllers. Please read the following text carefully, and do not hesitate to ask questions. 

6.2 Project Goal and Purpose of Processing 

The cooperation partners, acting as joint controllers within the scope of the project described above, process data for the following purposes: 

To develop control algorithms and conduct potential assessments with the aim of reducing peak loads in the operation of heat networks, and to select suitable densification and retrofit potential, baseline data on building structure (including building age, energy performance status, etc.) are required. These data can be found, among other sources, in AGWR and the ZEUS database. Optimization recommendations for heat networks can enable more efficient operation of the heat network. By comparing calculated data with actual heat consumption, Alpine Building Centre can develop algorithms and optimization approaches that add significant value to the design of efficient heat networks and the avoidance of peak loads. In addition, the underlying data enable the identification of buildings that are suitable for densification measures based on their building typology. For this purpose, Alpine Building Centre develops building typologies and links them to densification types. 

The aim of the project is to bundle expertise related to resource-efficient building and sustainable settlement development in order to help reduce energy demand and thereby contribute to achieving climate targets, while also increasing the efficient use of existing land. Linking science and industry, as well as combining building materials with building services technologies, are key aspects of the Centre’s work. Alpine Building Centre also aims to intelligently interconnect buildings, with all their components and their settlement-structural context, in the sense of Smart Buildings and Smart Settlement Systems. 

In using the data specified above, Alpine Building Centre pursues the following purposes: 

  • Creating, further developing, and adapting baseline data on the heat demand of existing buildings 
  • Quantifying building types and linking them to densification types 
  • Assessing the building stock with regard to suitability for densification (year of construction / retrofit backlog, retrofit status, heat demand) 
  • Achieving a sustainable reduction of peak loads in heat networks (buildings as thermal storage) 
  • Generating new control algorithms for implementation in existing and new heat networks 
  • Disseminating the research results

6.3 Presentation of the Project/Study 

Which Data Are Processed? 

The collection and/or use of personal data relates to data from the following categories: 

  • Energy consumption data 
  • Basic personal data 
  • Contact data 
  • Log data 
  • External energy-demand data 
  • Building data 
  • Property (parcel) data 
  • All data from the databases ZEUS, AGWR, and SAGIS 

We collect the personal data required to fulfil this processing purpose from the following sources: 

  • ZEUS database of the Land Salzburg for the State of Salzburg 
  • AGWR for the State of Salzburg 
  • SAGIS, the Salzburg Geographic Information System 

6.4 Processing Workflow 

Personal data are extracted from the above-mentioned sources and prepared (data smoothing, data aggregation, pseudonymization). The processed data are used as input for calculations and simulations (data baseline, validation of simulation results, and cross-checking across different sources). In doing so, aggregated data, calculation and simulation results, and visualizations are assigned a spatial reference, and property-specific data are calculated, derived, or retrieved from the sources. The processed data are visualized in simulations, graphics, and web tools. 

6.5 Access to Data 

Only the project team of the Alpine Building Centre has access to your personal data. All persons authorized to access the data are subject to Austrian and European data protection law when handling personal data and are bound by statutory confidentiality obligations. 

6.6 Disclosure of Data 

No raw data or information about the data sources is shared with third parties, i.e., persons not involved in the project. 

To achieve the processing purpose described above, it may be necessary for us to disclose your data in pseudonymized form to certain recipients. In individual cases, personal data are transferred, made available, or otherwise disclosed to the following recipients: 

  • Funding agencies 
  • The project advisory board and the organizations represented by the project advisory board 

6.7 Publications 

Project results may be used and published for scientific publications in anonymized form. In any case, this does not allow any conclusions to be drawn about an individual person. 

6.8 Legal Basis and Retention Period 

6.8.1 Legal Basis 

The processing of personal data in research projects is permissible on the basis of a task carried out in the public interest and/or on the basis of the overriding legitimate interests of the Alpine Building Centre and/or the cooperation partners University of Applied Sciences Salzburg GmbH and Research Studios Austria Forschungsgesellschaft mbH. 

Pursuant to Article 6(1)(e) GDPR, processing is lawful where it is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest. Under the Universities of Applied Sciences Studies Act (FHStG), universities of applied sciences have been assigned not only a teaching mandate but also a research mandate by the legislator. They must ensure a scientifically sound, practice-oriented education at higher-education level. 

Processing operations that address topics of major importance to society as a whole are considered to be in the public interest, for example public health, the prevention and control of infectious diseases, and social security. Funded research projects are generally considered to be in the public interest. 

Where processing for research purposes is not carried out in the public interest, the project partners in any case have an overriding legitimate interest in conducting research activities (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR), as this is among the core activities of the university of applied sciences, and of Research Studios Austria Forschungsgesellschaft as an Austrian research organization with a focus on digital technologies and on transferring innovation from universities to markets. 

For special categories of personal data, Article 9(2)(j) GDPR provides that processing for scientific and historical research purposes is permitted on the basis of a legal basis under Union law or the law of a Member State, provided that it is proportionate to the aim pursued, respects the essence of the right to data protection, and provides for appropriate and specific measures to safeguard the fundamental rights and interests of the data subject. In Austria, such legal bases have been established with Section 7 of the Austrian Data Protection Act (DSG) and the Research Organization Act (FOG), which – subject to numerous safeguards – permit the processing of personal data for research purposes.

6.9 Retention Period 

We store your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfill the purpose of the processing, or for as long as a relevant legal or contractual obligation requires longer retention. For the purpose of generating research results within the scope of the above-mentioned project/study and for documenting good scientific practice, this results in a maximum retention period of ten years from completion of the project/study. 

6.10 Data Protection Rights 

With regard to your personal data, you have the rights set out in Section 8. Note: Where personal data are processed for scientific or historical research purposes, these rights may be restricted pursuant to Article 89(2) GDPR to the extent that exercising those rights would be likely to render impossible or seriously impair the achievement of the specific purposes, and where such restrictions are necessary to meet those purposes. 

7. Data Security 

We implement all necessary and appropriate technical and organizational security measures (TOMs) to protect your personal data against loss and misuse. We store your personal data in a secure operating environment that reflects the state of the art. 

We secure access to our websites via HTTPS, provided your browser supports SSL. This means that communication between your device and our servers is encrypted in such cases. 

We protect the personal data you provide or disclose against unauthorized access through encrypted transmission, access-restricted storage that is not accessible from outside, and physical safeguards for the servers. We continuously review and update these safeguards in line with technological developments. Such measures include SSL encryption, regular software and hardware updates, continuous server monitoring, and backup management by the joint controllers. 

8. Data Protection Rights 

As a data subject under the GDPR, you have various rights, which arise in particular from Articles 15 through 21 GDPR: 

  • Right to Be Informed (Articles 13 and 14 GDPR): You have the right to receive certain information when personal data are collected. 
  • Right of Access (Article 15 GDPR): You have the right to request confirmation as to whether personal data concerning you are being processed, and to obtain access to such personal data, as well as further information and a copy of the personal data, in accordance with the statutory requirements. 
  • Right to Rectification (Article 16 GDPR): In accordance with the statutory requirements, you have the right to request that personal data concerning you be completed or that inaccurate personal data concerning you be corrected. 
  • Right to Erasure and Restriction of Processing (Articles 17 and 18 GDPR): Subject to the statutory requirements, you have the right to request the erasure of personal data concerning you without undue delay or, alternatively, to request restriction of the processing of your personal data. 
  • Right to Data Portability (Article 20 GDPR): You have the right to receive the personal data concerning you that you have provided to us, in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format, or to request that those data be transmitted to another controller, in accordance with the statutory requirements. 
  • Right to Withdraw Consent (Article 7(3) GDPR): You have the right to withdraw consent at any time. Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out on the basis of consent before its withdrawal. 
  • Right to Object (Article 21 GDPR): If we process your personal data to protect legitimate interests within the meaning of Article 6(1)(f) GDPR, you have the right under Article 21(1) GDPR to object to such processing on grounds relating to your particular situation. You may object at any time, without giving reasons, to the processing of your data for direct marketing purposes under Article 21(2) GDPR. This also applies to profiling insofar as it is related to direct marketing. 
  • Right to Lodge a Complaint with a Supervisory Authority: Without prejudice to any other administrative or judicial remedy, you have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority (Austria: Data Protection Authority) pursuant to Article 77 GDPR, in particular in the Member State of your habitual residence, place of work, or place of the alleged infringement, if you believe that the processing of personal data concerning you violates the GDPR. 

Contact Details of the Supervisory Authority in Austria: 

Datenschutzbehörde 
Barichgasse 40-42 
1030 Vienna 
AUSTRIA 
Phone: +43 1 52152-0 
Email: dsb@dsb.gv.at 

Before lodging a complaint with the supervisory authority (Data Protection Authority), or if you have any questions about data protection, please contact the data protection contacts listed here first. 

9. Contact the Alpine Building Centre 

9.1 General Contact 

Alpine Building Research and Transfer Centre 
Director: FH-Prof. Arch. Dipl.-Ing. Dr. Michael Grobbauer 
Deputy Director: Dr. Thomas Prinz 
www.alpinesbauen.at 
office@alpinesbauen.at 

9.2 Contact Details for the Data Protection Officers 

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the processing of your personal data, the data protection officers of the cooperation partners will be happy to assist you: 

Fachhochschule Salzburg GmbH 
Datenschutzbeauftragte 
Urstein Süd 1 
5412 Puch/Salzburg 
AUSTRIA 
Tel: +43 50 2211-0 
Email: datenschutz@fh-salzburg.ac.at 

iSPACE plus GmbH 
Schillerstraße 25 
5020 Salzburg 
AUSTRIA 
Tel. +43 662 908585-0 
Email: office@ispaceplus.at 

[1] Processing operations that address topics of major importance to society as a whole are considered to be in the public interest, for example public health, the prevention and control of infectious diseases, and social security. Funded research projects are generally considered to be in the public interest.

Status: January 21, 2026 
© 2025 Alpine Building Research and Transfer Centre. All rights reserved.