FUTURARC INTERVIEW
Alnatura Campus DARMSTADT, GERMANY
The site of the former US-Army Kelley Barracks has been extensively restored for the 55,000-square-metre Alnatura Campus in the southwest of Darmstadt. The sealed surfaces were broken up and the resulting construction material was installed in the surrounding area. The newly constructed building of Alnatura Working Environment is the main focal point on the campus—a bright and open office building for up to 500 employees. Alnatura Working Environment is the largest office building with an innovative rammed‐earth façade in Europe, with a gross floor area of approximately 13,500 square metres. The rammed‐earth façade regulates the indoor climate in a natural way and has a positive effect on the indoor acoustics. Various features meet the highest ecological requirements: an earth duct supplying the climate-neutral building with fresh air from the nearby forest; the rainwater cistern; the photovoltaic and geothermal systems; the large rooms full of light; and flexible workplaces. The entire ground floor functions as a meeting place and a communication space, thus promoting the uncomplicated encounter between the visitors and employees. Stairs, bridges and walkways connect the curved levels, creating horizontal and vertical neighbourhoods.
The rammed earth elements in the outer walls each measure 3.5 metres by 1 metre and weigh about 4.5 tonnes each. They were produced in a temporary field factory, which was housed in a tank storage hall on the property that was later demolished. The façades have a total thickness of 69 centimetres, consisting of an outer rammed earth shell of 38 centimetres, an inner shell of 14 centimetres and a 17-centimetre-thick insulation layer in between. The latter consists of foam glass gravel, which is obtained from recycled waste glass. For the first time, the insulation here was already inserted into the wall elements when the clay was tamped. The clay surfaces are visible on both sides of the wall and only received a casein glaze towards the interior, which reduces the
abrasion of the walls. Externally mounted horizontal erosion barriers at intervals of 30 to 60 centimetres are intended to reduce the washing out of the clay by rainwater.
Alnatura Campus serves further as a learning and meeting place for the local community with a restaurant on the ground floor. The nearby public herbal, vegetable and fruit gardens have been established with educational purposes as well. As per Martin Haas, founder and partner of haas cook zemmrich STUDIO2050, “Alnatura Working Environment provides answers on how to plan and build buildings today: simple and resource‐neutral. The values and open organisational structures of Alnatura received an architectural equivalent, hence creating identity and connecting people.”
Sources
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/339014909_Alnatura_Campus_-_Neubau_der_ Alnatura_Arbeitswelt
https://www.detail.de/artikel/lehmbau-im-grossformat-alnatura-buerogebaeude-in- darmstadt-34847/
PROJECT DATA Client
Campus 360 GmbH Architect
haas cook zemmrich STUDIO2050, Stuttgart Structural
Knippers & Helbig Energy Concept Transsolar Energietechnik GmbH, Stuttgart Rammed Earth Construction Lehm Ton Erde Baukunst GmbH, Schlins
7 to 10 Earth wall production 11 Alnatura Campus
11
Photo courtesy of Olaf Wiechers, Alnatura Produktions und Handels GmbH
FUTURARC 97
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