PHYSICS INSTITUTE
400 linear metres of green facade and 5 themed courtyards
Urban ecological case study building of the Berlin Senate Department for Urban Development on the topics of rainwater management and energy saving
Location: Berlin-Adlershof
Client: State of Berlin
Year: 2005
Service phases: HOAI 1, 3–9
Construction costs: 1,75 Mio Euro
Architecture: Augustin & Frank Architekten
Cooperation: Stefan Tischer, Ippolita Nicotera (landscape architecture), Dipl.-Ing. Brigitte Reichmann (project management), TU Berlin, HU Berlin, Neubrandenburg University of Applied Sciences (scientific project management)
Award: Berliner Architekturpreis 2003, recognition
The project is focused on two issues of global importance: Increasing urbanization and increasing energy consumption. It is the first research project worldwide to produce results on the combined use of decentralized rainwater management and energy savings through green roofs and facades. A key role in this respect is played by building cooling through circulation processes of cooled air as a basis for sustainable construction.
It is the first research project in the world to produce results regarding the combined use of the decentralized rainwater management and energy saving through roof and facade greening. In this regard, the building cooling through circulation processes of the cooled air plays a key role as the basis for sustainable building. The research project was scientifically supervised (monitoring) for five years. The result of which was a research report that analyzed and evaluated the scientific and economic results. In particular, the project produced the results with regard to the future standardization of innovative technologies application for RAINWATER MANAGEMENT and ENERGY SAVING by means of green roofs and facades. The use of evaporative cooling appeared to be a cheap and simple method for building air conditioning within the research project. The evaporation of 1 m³, which corresponds to 1000 liters of rainwater, produces an average evaporation cooling that corresponds to 680 kWh.
