Topping-out ceremony at TU Dortmund University: The new building of the Center for Advanced Liquid-Phase Engineering Dortmund (CALEDO) will strengthen research excellence in the fields of bioengineering and chemical engineering in the Ruhr region. Up to now, there have been various working groups at TU Dortmund University, based in different faculties, dealing with partial aspects of the subject. As an interdisciplinary research location, CALEDO will contribute significantly to strengthening research excellence in the Ruhr region in the fields of bioengineering and chemical engineering. In the laboratories of the interdisciplinary research centre, the design of liquid phases for environmentally friendly and innovative processes in chemistry and biotechnology or for pharmaceutical products will be customised.
The five-storey new building nestles into the natural topography of the sloping site with a terraced, landscaped inner courtyard and rounded building corners. Reddish clinker brick covers the sculptural building cube, which is finished off on the upper floor by large-scale, raised clinker brick parapets. According to the plans of Gerber Architekten, the new building has 3,600 m2 of laboratory and office space as well as 100 state-of-the-art workstations. In 2018, Gerber Architekten was awarded the contract for the new research building, which will be realised on behalf of the Bau- und Liegenschaftsbetrieb des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen (BLB NRW).
Last Thursday (25.08.22) Gerber Architekten was visited by the mobile of the Bundesstiftung Baukultur. Under the motto “About urban transformations” Mr. Latzko (Bundesstiftung Baukultur) and Mr. Gerber talked about the topics building in the existing environment, urban transformations and the importance of building culture. The third summer trip of the Bundesstiftung Baukultur (German Federal Foundation for Building Culture) takes in outstanding projects in the field of building culture throughout Germany in order to enter into dialog with local partners on site. The Tönnishof served as a thematically appropriate stage for this: the listed mansion with adjacent stable building are the only structural remains of a farm and stable complex built in 1884 in Dortmund-Kley. Today, this is exactly where Gerber Architekten’s Dortmund office is located. Thank you for the nice visit and the interesting exchange!
Photo: Jürgen Landes
Under the heading ” journey through time” in the August issue of wettbewerbe aktuell, Eckhard Gerber comments about competitions and the special significance of the 2nd prize with selected examples. Because a clear winning design, a 1st prize is not always the result of the competitions. Based on his personal experience as an architect and as an adjudicator, Mr. Gerber knows what opportunities and possibilities the competition system offers in these cases.
Photo: Jürgen Landes
With the completion of the “BaseCamp Dortmund” and the mixed use of shops, restaurants, a hotel and living space for students, the Kampstraße in Dortmund has been revalued and the ‘Leeds Square’ has been redefined in terms of urban development. In addition to restaurant and retail space, the seven-storey new building has three inner courtyards, where the flats are arranged. The BaseCamp offers the city centre a solution to the ongoing empty retail spaces and provides students with a central place to live, work, socialise and relax.
Photo: Jürgen Landes
The result of the competition for the Horner Aufschwung community centre on the Horner Geest has been decided and Gerber Architekten is pleased to have won 1st prize.
A new meeting place and support centre for young people, children and families is to be created in a sustainably designed building. Through the close cooperation and exchange of several operators, the design is considered a key project for the neighbourhood development of the entire urban area.
The main idea of the new building for the neighbourhood centre uses the typology of a barn. The building is positioned on the site in such a way that the preservation of the two most important trees can be guaranteed. All under one roof and very flexible in its basic structure, the building presents itself as a new centre for the district. The modern timber construction conveys ecological, sustainable as well as comfortable impulses to the users and thus also reflects sustainable architecture to the outside world.
In front of the jury, the design convinced with its “self-confident, powerful and at the same time restrained architecture, also with regard to its sustainable materiality and construction method”.
The international IT service provider Materna is building its new corporate headquarters with 1,800 workplaces on 44,000 square metres of office space on the former Phoenix West industrial site. The ceremonial laying of the foundation stone took place on 15 July in the presence of numerous representatives and guests. The “new dimension of working environments” emphasised by Dr. Winfried Materna, founder and shareholder of Materna, is reflected in the design concept. Open spatial structures ensure dynamic communication processes, while the walk-in courtyard landscape and the reception hall with landscape staircase as communication platforms provide transparency and dynamism. The investment volume for the new corporate headquarters, which meets high energy efficiency standards and offers employees advanced e-mobility concepts, is over 120 million euros.
(From left to right: Martin Wibbe, Chairman of the Board – Helmut an de Meulen, Founder and Partner – Thomas Westphal, Mayor of Dortmund – Dr. Winfried Materna, Founder and Partner – Benjamin Sieber, Managing Director Gerber Architekten GmbH)
The construction of the new training centre is a future-oriented and sustainable investment in the competitiveness of the Saarland skilled crafts sector. The ground-breaking ceremony on 14 July marked the ceremonial start of the new training centre in the Saarland capital.
The training centre, designed by Gerber Architekten, will redevelop the area between the listed Pingusson building, the Westspange and the administrative headquarters of the Saarland Chamber of Skilled Crafts. The training centre for the Saarland Chamber of Skilled Crafts is designed as a flat structure that fits in autonomously in terms of urban development between the towering buildings of the Chamber of Skilled Crafts and the former Pingusson French Embassy. The new building concentrates compactly on the plot north of Hohenzollernstraße and supports Pingusson’s building with its self-sufficient cubature. At the same time, the restaurant area on the ground floor with its adjoining terrace offers a view of the adjacent, partially listed park area. A building-high atrium and a workshop courtyard run through the building cube as glass passages and offer insights into the variety of crafts. The four-storey solitaire with its two inner courtyards offers state-of-the-art conditions for dual vocational training and continuing vocational education. Completion is scheduled for the end of 2024.
The ceremony took place in the presence of numerous representatives of the HWK, various ministries, the Lord Mayor of Saarbrücken and our Managing Director Jens Bentfeld.
The development of the construction project can be followed via a webcam: https://timebeast_api.de.a9sapp.eu/v1/galleries/398?api_token=L7PMkLL4QbinruQ02xrKxJEmfWlY7ZRKyQTaWc4iFoq6ycHiBU
As part of an urban planning competition, a technology center is to be built in the Huckarde district. Gerber Architekten is pleased to receive recognition for the competition entry. Our concept for this special location did not only deal with modern energy industry in terms of use. The architecture for the campus also reflects the guiding principle of future-oriented development through high energy efficiency, resource protection and sustainability.