Description
The business and innovation centre for optics, optoelectronics, and laser technology consists of two organically shaped building volumes: a single-storey experimental hall and a three-storey laboratory building. Their outstanding amorphous architecture strikingly contrasts with the rigorous rectangular block pattern of the Adlershof Technology Park. The shape and colour scheme of the buildings create an identity and a unique sense of place which respond to the difficult site.
Photonics are a scientific key topic with a broad range of potential applications in fields such as laser, medicine and display technology, and x-ray analytics. The brief called for multi-functional areas providing flexibility in terms of size, layout, and technical equipment in order to accommodate the many different work and research scenarios and requirements of changing tenants. The organic shape of the buildings was partly motivated by the different sizes of required work areas ranging from 100 m² to 1,000 m².
Minimised circulation areas and the need for large laboratories that can be blacked out led to a relatively deep floor plan which is organised along a central service and access route. The functional areas are arranged at right angles to this route. Based on a perpendicular structural and infrastructural grid the building allows any spot to be connected to all kinds of services.
The three-storey main building has a glazed double-layered façade providing maximum transparency in combination with an increased thermal insulation and natural ventilation. The 7.5 m tall experimental hall for large-scale tests is a simple steel structure with fully glazed exterior walls. Both buildings were fitted with coloured solar blinds. Additionally, the columns of the multi-storey building received a vivid colour treatment. The lively colour scheme reflects the colour spectrum of light and reinforces the organic undulating appearance of the building exterior. Shape, colour, light, and transparency create a dynamic building volume that smartly juxtaposes the restored neighbour buildings.
Drawings
Schematic sketch of building
Ground floor of the two buildings
Longitudinal section
Cross section
Axonometric view of the load-bearing structure
Photos
Exterior view of the assembly and testing hall with a load-bearing steel structure next to a three-storey reinforced concrete building
Round openings in the colourfully glazed concrete balustrades in combination with suspended steel stairs dominate the central access space of the laboratory building
Originally published in: Hardo Braun, Dieter Grömling, Research and Technology Buildings: A Design Manual, Birkhäuser, 2005.