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| Ludwig Erhard Haus | |
Armadillo appearing in the heart of the city |
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A symbol of urban redevelopment in Old West Berlin This individualistic work is located near the Zoo Station in the center of Old West Berlin. Around here, we find a ragtag assortment of structures: facades in the 19-century style, architecture styles from the 1950-60s, cinemas and so on. Even the Ludwig Erhard Haus is an addition to the Chamber of Commerce Building, which was completed in 1955. After the fall of the Mauer (Berlin Wall), there was a great need to redevelop East Berlin. A competition was held in 1991 for the architects who would give new life to this former West Berlin section of the city. Nicholas Grimshaw was selected from among 12 entries. The building was named after Ludwig Erhard, who was the first Minister of Economy (and later Prime Minister) and who contributed greatly and miraculously to the economic reconstruction of post-war West Germany. Secret behind the structure's striking individuality This eye-catching construction was not created solely through the architect's inspiration. In the competition, the client had made several rigorous requests: The building should be a very dense structure, large areas would be needed without being blocked by pillars for such uses as exhibitions, a stock exchange and conferences, etc., along with flexibility for future changes, etc. Actually, the space reserved for the stock exchange was remodeled greatly with the advent of the IT revolution in later years. The designer proposed that the offices should be suspended from a huge arch to meet all of the client's rigorous needs and demands. Suspended by the arches with a maximum span of 61 meters There are 15 arches wrapped by 0.4 mm-thick stainless steel installed at intervals of 6.9 meters, suspending the floors from the first floor upward. The maximum span of these arches reaches 61.2 meters, with a height of 38.6 meters. The suspending structure restricted the height of each floor to 3.53 meters, and yet, the architects realized a ceiling height of 2.99 meters, which was an amazing feat. The office space has two large atriums to break the monotony and bad taste of spaces without windows. The roofs between the arches are of a shell construction and slabs of the office spaces are made of pre-cast concrete. Because the suspended floors may move vertically by as much as 50 mm, the facade of the foyer looks like it has been buried under the ceiling of the ground floor. Western facade was made due to walling regulations of the 19th century The area is crowded with many structures, so it is rather difficult to get a good view of the curved image of the entire building. In addition, the only facade facing the street had to be a flat wall of 22 m in height due to 19th-cntury building code regulations. The arches where, therefore, completely concealed behind the vertical facade. An architectural plan economizes energy consumption The curved surfaces of the roof and the wall have smaller surface areas and therefore contribute to substantial energy savings. The atrium has the function of a buffer zone, to lessen the effects of the rigorous environment. Even on a cold day when the outside temperature may drop to 15 degrees below zero, the temperature in the Atrium usually remains at 0 °C. In the summer, hot air is vented through the large windows, so the heat will not be trapped in the rooms. The air is circulated through the Atrium, whose entire volume is 33,000 cubic meters, twice per hour in winter, and ten times per hour in summer. As there is no space between the ceiling and the roof, heat travels and is radiated, cutting down the cost of heating and air conditioning to the minimum. | ||||||||
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