23.09.2021 Grundsteinlegung CALEDO
CALEDO, an internationally visible research building for the knowledge-based design of liquid phases, is being built at the TU Dortmund. The 5-storey building offers around 4,000 square metres of usable space for laboratory and office areas for interdisciplinary research work in the fields of bio- and chemical engineering, chemistry and chemical biology, and physics. The jointly used core facilities with special laboratories enable research into the fundamental modes of action of liquid phases for industrial applications.
The new building nestles into the natural topography of the sloping site at Otto-Hahn-Strasse 10 in Dortmund with a terraced, landscaped inner courtyard. Reddish clinker brick with its naturally iridescent surface covers the outer structure, which blends smoothly into the surroundings with rounded building corners and ends as a sculptural building cube with its large-scale, raised clinker brick parapets on the upper floor.
In 2018, Gerber Architekten was awarded the contract for the new research building in a VgV with design, which will be realised on behalf of the BLB NRW. CALEDO is one of the current projects in the field of research and laboratory construction. The inauguration of the HI ERN (Helmholtz Institute Erlangen-Nuremberg for Renewable Energies) took place in Erlangen as recently as July 2021.
Picture reference: Klaus Kaiser from the NRW Ministry of Culture and Science, TU Rector Prof. Manfred Bayer, Dr. Michael Meister from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, CALEDO spokesperson Prof. Gabriele Sadowski, Gabriele Willems from Bau- und Liegenschaftsbetrieb NRW, architect Prof. Eckhard Gerber from Gerber Architekten and TU Chancellor Albrecht Ehlers (from left) sink the time capsule for the new CALEDO research building at TU Dortmund.
Photo: © Martina Hengesbach
Over the next three years, new, agile working worlds will be created for Allianz Deutschland AG according to the design by Gerber Architekten. In 2025, the workplaces that have so far been spread across several locations in Stuttgart are to find their new address at the new Group location in Stuttgart-Vaihingen. The new multi-part building offers modern working landscapes that meet all the conditions of office work environments at all times. The concept is based on a high-rise building and lower structures grouped around a hundred-year-old oak tree. The special feature of the project is its embedding in the green landscape area in the south-west of Stuttgart. With its rounded forms, the group of buildings ensures ventilation, which is important for the region. In this way, a sensible and sustainable unit is created within the landscape and in consideration of the wind conditions. In its internal structure, Allianz Park Stuttgart has been conceived and developed for a wide variety of future uses. Free and open areas allow office use in a wide variety of ways, offering employees optimal working conditions.
On July 14th 2021, the inauguration of the new HI ERN research building took place on the university campus of the Friedrich-Alexander University in Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU) after a construction period of almost three and a half years. The Helmholtz Institute for Renewable Energies HI ERN is a branch of Forschungszentrum Jülich and is operated in close cooperation with FAU and Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin.
The aim of HI ERN is to develop material- and process-based solutions for climate-neutral energy production and to combine excellent research in the fields of materials, energy and process research. Around 115 scientists will conduct interdisciplinary research here into the energy supply of future generations, which should be climate-friendly, sustainable and affordable.
This approach characterises the research building that has now been inaugurated. The HI ERN is grouped around a narrow but long green inner courtyard. The physical and chemical laboratory areas on the 1st and 2nd floors form large interconnected laboratory areas for interdisciplinary exchange. With its tactile surface reminiscent of microscopically enlarged nanostructures, the horizontally structured aluminium façade conveys a technoid character.
The Centre for Mental Health in Böblingen-Sindelfingen is designed as the prelude to a “green centre”. The guiding principle of the design is to create an ambience in close contact with nature that is conducive to the quality of stay and the recovery of patients. A light-flooded main corridor runs through the building, accompanied by two inner courtyards. Therapy gardens are arranged on all levels, which also serve as retreats. Two-storey therapy loggias create a natural transition zone to the surroundings. A barrier-free roof garden rounds off the concept of direct connection to nature. With its light-coloured clinker brick, the transparency of the floor-to-ceiling glazing and the light-coloured wooden elements, the façade has a natural and inviting effect.
“Architecture shapes the future” is the motto of the annual Day of Architecture, where site visits are once again possible this coming weekend.
Among the 117 projects submitted is the IA/IB building complex of the Ruhr University Bochum, which was built in the 1960s. Due to the pollution of the engineering buildings, IA/IB was deconstructed and reconstructed from 2014 onwards.
How do you combine redevelopment and monument protection? What opportunities are offered by the redevelopment? The RUB is a prime example of the German universities founded in the 1960s and 1970s, whose buildings are now aging and in need of renovation.
On Saturday, 26 June, there will be a two-hour guided tour of the IA/IB building complex at 10 a.m., during which two project managers from Gerber Architekten and a representative of BLB NRW will be on hand to answer questions.
Do you have any questions? Then please feel free to contact us by phone at +49 231 9065 175 or by e-mail at info@gerberarchitekten.de.
Further information on the Architecture Day is available here: https://www.aknw.de/baukultur/projekte/tag-der-architektur
The new technology quarter in Jinan consists of loosely arranged high-rise complexes that are staggered in height and create numerous references to the urban environment and the surrounding nature. Covering a total area of 130,000 square metres, the new technology quarter extends through the city, creating a variety of urban and landscape plaza situations. The two tallest buildings form a striking focal point as a gateway facing the city. The idea of working on the water and in the green shapes the concept of the high-rise buildings with green roof terraces, which combine along the Quanfu Canal to form an ultra-modern technology complex. The gross floor area is over 850,000 square metres.
In the competition for the new building of the German Cancer Research Centre, our design has received recognition. With its division into three clearly recognisable building complexes, the new building takes up the geometry of the Neuenheimer Feld campus and forms a striking prelude. A building-high “shop window” creates a visual connection to the old town and Heidelberg Castle. Like a spatial sculpture, the spiral staircase arranged in the access area behind it connects the different floors. The calm and evenly structured façade creates a contrasting combination with the transparency of the shop window, which reflects the public character of the German Cancer Research Center’s research.
The new headquarters of Materna Information & Communications SE is being built in the Phoenix-West industrial estate according to the design by Gerber Architekten. The approximately 1,800 workplaces will be brought together in one location at the new corporate headquarters. The corporate headquarters is planned like a metaphor of change on a former industrial site in the south of Dortmund. This reflects the self-image of the family-owned company, founded in Dortmund in 1980, as an innovation driver of successful structural change in North Rhine-Westphalia.
As a clear commitment to the Dortmund location, the dynamically pointed building is positioned on a plateau facing Dortmund city centre. The central design idea is to offer a system of open and social spatial structures for dynamic communication processes and innovative solutions. Elements such as the glass foyer with café bar, the canteen with indoor and outdoor areas, the terraced landscape staircase and the courtyard landscape that can be accessed as a “green centre” promote communication among employees and are intended to contribute to employees’ identification with their company. The opening to the landscape and the spatial interfaces are also of central importance in the architectural design. This creates a smooth transition between architecture and landscape as well as a transfer of information and knowledge within the company and into the open society.