Kinetic facade for the energy tower
Veronika Volkova MA Architecture - LAVA - LABORATORY FOR VISIONARY ARCHITECTURE
The existing cylindrical-shaped storage centre is transformed into a dynamic sculpture, a city icon, a knowledge hub on sustainable energy and fully accessible to the public with city views.
Brief info:
Location: Heidelberg, Germany
Client: Stadtwerke Heidelberg, with IBA, Heidelberg
Status: Under construction
Size: 26m diameter; 56m high; energy park site 10.000m2
Partners: A24 Landschaft - Landschaftsarchitektur; White Void; Priedemann Fassadenberatung; Transsolar Energietechnik
Project Description:
From storage cylinder to knowledge centre, tourist attraction and city icon.
An existing cylindrical-shaped storage centre is being transformed into a dynamic sculpture, a city icon, a knowledge hub on sustainable energy, fully accessible to the public with city views.
A multi-layered facade structure is inspired by the geometries of nature. An inner shell coloured in different shades of blue wraps the building. Helix stairway circles the energy tank, rising dramatically to the top. A cable network between the stairway and the tank forms the outer façade layer. Around 11,000 diamond-shaped plates of thin stainless steel are hooked with an ingenious connection to this steel network allowing them to twist up to 45 degrees in the wind. Organic photovoltaic layer is mounted atop the plates that face the southern direction to support the vision of the carbon-neutral future.
The complex interplay of movement, light and shadow is generated by sun and wind, with no additional energy or complicated technology required.
Visitors will be welcomed by an elliptical entrance level where two elevators take them to a roof terrace with large staggered terraces and event spaces and a bistro.
The complex will be one of the tallest buildings in Heidelberg and a strong symbol of the transition towards renewable sources of energy.
ABOUT LAVA:
Chris Bosse, Tobias Wallisser and Alexander Rieck founded LAVA in 2007. It was established as a network with offices in Sydney, Stuttgart and Berlin.
LAVA merges future technologies with the patterns of organisation found in nature to build a smarter, friendlier, more socially and environmentally responsible future.
We combine digital workflow, nature’s structural principles and the latest digital fabrication technologies to build MORE WITH LESS: more (architecture) with l
LABORATORY FOR VISIONARY ARCHITECTURE Saarbrücker Strasse 24, 10405 Berlin Veronika Volkova +493473747180 v.volkova@l-a-v-a.net www.l-a-v-a.net
