OKASOLAR S Functional Glass from OKALUX ensures high thermal and visual comfort in a new production building for laboratory instruments.
Marktheidenfeld, June 2018. A multitude of special requirements must be met in order to create good industrial architecture. This was successfully achieved in the award winning new production building for laboratory instruments on the premises of the Sartorius Campus in Göttingen/Germany. The building, which was conceived according to the criteria of the German Association for Sustainable Building, is as aesthetically appealing as it is functionally and energetically convincing.
Modern, Efficient Production and Working Conditions
The new building by Bünemann & Collegen expands the capacity of the international leader in pharmaceutical and laboratory supplies, Sartorius, by 25.000 square meters. This extra space is distributed over a two-storey production hall of steel construction which is flanked by reinforced steel aisles for offices and another two-storey high reinforced steel building west of the hall for product development and laboratories. Both areas are connected by a glass atrium, which also houses the main entrance. The aim of the planners was to convey the values of the company – openness, sustainability and joy – and to express the appreciation of work and of the people working there. The larger, modern units in the production area enable optimized processes and ensure productivity and flexibility, while a modern office concept using partition walls and cavity floors facilitates variable structures from individual to open plan offices.
Expressive Supporting Structure
The ingenious supporting structure enables easy expansion: intermediate levels can be retracted increasing the floor space as needed. The angle of the steel supports in the production hall has various advantages: firstly, the areas can be used
without any limitations through the construction of the building – and secondly, the angle creates funnel-shaped spaces between the individual production aisles – so-called “light funnels”, which bring the daylight deeply into the interior. The vividness of the architecture and the supporting structure were very important to the architects. For them, the dynamics and the solidness of the system are the important functional attributes.
More than Energetic Building Optimization
In addition to implementing aesthetic ideas, the architects were faced with constructive-technological and energetic challenges. Sustainability was one of the core values of the planning. With the aid of an extensive set of measures, the planners succeeded in having the new building achieve values that were 30% below the requirements of the EnEV (energy saving ordinance) for the consumption of primary energy. In addition to a positive ecological balance, the project also exhibits a high quality of space and comfortable working conditions. Almost 7,000 square meters of glass surface ensure high thermal and visual comfort in all areas. “Innovative daylight planning was an important part of our design and the total energy concept”, says architect Christian Rathmann of Bünemann & Collegen. He chose the OKASOLAR S functional glass from OKALUX for the overhead glazing. Fixed lamellae louvres in the cavity ensure even illumination of the rooms with diffuse daylight at any time of the day or year. There is almost no direct solar irradiation. The adjustment of the shading system to the building is done in the factory based on an exact solar layout assessment. Cooling loads and the cost of artificial illumination can thus be lowered and the energy balance optimized.
Awards and Prizes:
- German Steel Construction Engineering Prize 2017
- European Steel Design Award 2017
- German Design Award 2018 (in the “Communications Design – Architecture” Category)
Length of text
- Approx. 530 words / 3.500 characters
