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On 22 May, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Nina Kopmann was our guest in the “kwa in dialogue” series. As Professor for “Sustainable Building Energy Systems” in the “Smart Building Engineering” degree programme at Aachen University of Applied Sciences, she told us about current developments in the field of building simulation. How can planning be consistently user-centred and what potential lies in adaptive comfort models were the initial questions.

Many thanks to Nina Kopmann for the many new insights! We are very much looking forward to the in-depth discussion in a few months’ time.

‘kwa in dialogue’ is a series of discussions with which we maintain the cross-project and cross-topic discourse of our 160 employees across the various locations. It serves as a stimulating and productive exchange of knowledge and experience – both within and outside the office, between experts from other disciplines and employees, between different projects as well as different planning phases, and is both knowledge transfer and self-reflection.

Using a 1:1 scale mock-up, we worked with our clients Quantum Immobilien AG and PROXIMUS REAL ESTATE AG to sample the new facade of Central Cross and define the final color tone.

The technically complex double facade is an important part of the revitalization of the 12-storey office building from the 1960s. Located at a busy intersection in the heart of Cologne’s vibrant city center, demolition of the existing building initially seemed unavoidable. It no longer met today’s requirements in terms of comfort, energy efficiency and quality of stay. Instead, the bold decision was made to preserve and convert the building, which will save over 2,000 tons of CO2 emissions.

The new facade meets several requirements at the same time: It protects against the high noise emissions, significantly improves the lighting and ensures special user comfort with its individually opening windows. The vertically accentuated copper-colored pilaster strips and the scaled structure give the Central Cross a new appearance that makes it a contemporary urban building block.

 

In the new podcast episode of the German Design Council, Jasna Moritz talks to Martin Pauli about the future of construction. They discuss why sustainable architecture is more than just reducing CO₂ emissions and why a holistic approach is necessary.

The focus is particularly on circular construction. Instead of constantly building new, we need a more conscious approach to existing buildings, materials and resources. How can we design buildings that are flexible, can be dismantled and reused? What role do social and functional aspects play in this? And why are honesty and a dialogical planning process essential for sustainable solutions?

A multi-layered discussion about the challenges and opportunities of the building turnaround.

Feel free to listen! Now on Spotify or here under the link: https://www.german-design-council.de/themen/design-perspectives-podcast/folge-13

Picture: @Carl Brunn

 

The new building with 101 apartments is part of the new Neufreimann district, which is currently being built on the site of the former Bayern barracks in Munich. To prevent the inner courtyard from overheating in summer, the structure is opened up at the north and south-western corners by means of generous joints. This division into three individual structures improves the natural air exchange, creates an optimized orientation for the residents and guarantees improved lighting in the living and recreation rooms. Between the volumes, terraces and a pergola access are created. On the ground floor, commercial and community areas enrich the residential use. The 7-8 storey complex will be built using a timber hybrid construction method and meets the “Quality Seal for Sustainable Buildings” (QNG).

We are looking forward to the subsequent detailed planning.

Further information about the project: https://www.kadawittfeldarchitektur.de/projekt/progeno-neufreimann/

Visualization: ©kadawittfeldarchitektur

this year’s new year’s card also comes without sleds, snow and reindeer, but instead with a building material. is that appropriate? we think so. as architects, we constantly have to think about the materials we use. even if public debate is currently dominated by other issues, climate change is still the biggest problem of our time. that is why we are showing you a stone from the french atlantic coast this year.

stone is one of the oldest building materials. it is durable, resilient and individual: different treatments create a variety of surfaces. there are stones almost everywhere. they shape landscapes and buildings. think of the greek temples, the roman aqueducts or the magnificent onyx walls in the pavilion of our aachen colleague mies van der rohe in barcelona. and every stone tells a different story – the story of its origin, for example, and the history of the place where it occurs. however, a stone should be left at the place where it occurs, that’s where it belongs. you should also avoid long transport routes. and if you take stones out of nature, you should reuse them for as long as possible.

following these instructions for use, you can now reverently shiver with the season: stones are simply beautiful, sometimes almost magical. each one is a unique specimen. the colors, hardnesses and patterns of stones are so diverse that you would love to build only with stones, if only – see above, you shouldn’t . we can, however, refurbish old, used stones and put them to new use: reduce, reuse, recycle! by the way, on the atlantic coast it is forbidden to simply take stones with you, no matter how handy they are. so instead, enjoy this card, which you can’t throw that well, but you can send and hang it very comfortably.
for the new year, we hope you manage to get under someone’s skin and get as many stones rolling as possible.

kadawittfeldarchitektur