 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Federal Environmental Agency
Office building
sauerbruch hutton,
Berlin, Germany
Location Dessau, Germany
Completed 2005
Photographer: Busse
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Dessau lies in a region whose economic foundations have been almost completely lost as a result of German reunification. Bringing the Federal Environmental Agency to Dessau helps create jobs and establish new know-how in an area that - in environmental terms - has suffered severely from its industrial past.
The brownfield site has been decontaminated, and a small existing railway station and a former gas appliance factory have both been integrated into the new complex. The main building features two distinct spatial zones: the "Forum" with its public facilities, and the more enclosed "Atrium" that pro-vides the centre of the institution itself. Crossed by sets of bridges, the Atrium provides the visual focus for surrounding offices and space for informal meetings.
The building has been designed to minimise the area of its external skin. For those offices with an external façade, very high levels of thermal insulation in the walls and windows help to reduce heat loss. Natural ventilation and daylight penetration are maximised. On days when high or low external temperatures prevail, a large geothermal heat exchanger enables fresh air to be naturally condi-tioned before it reaches the interior spaces. The high thermal mass of the walls and ceilings together with night ventilation enables further cooling of the offices in the summer. The cooling of specific areas (such as IT centre and kitchen) is achieved by a solar-powered adsorption chiller.
As part of a research programme, the performance of the building is being monitored continuously. Measurements are taken, analysed and published in order to make experiences with this prototype building available to both the public and the architectural profession.
|
|
|
|
|
Image copyright sauerbruch hutton, Berlin, Germany
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
