News

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1st prize in Ludwigsburg-Ossweil

The jury awarded our entry in the competition for the new day care centre in Ludwisburg-Ossweil 1st prize: "The day care centre is a clear cut timber structure of a distinctive and convincing design typology comprising a northern wing of ancillary rooms, a southern wing of group rooms and communal areas, and a generous circulation area in the centre.  Corresponding to the floor plan, a well proportioned forecourt provides access to the day care centre from the west. The building volume features a recess across the north-west corner, which establishes an appealing identity and shapes an adequate, weather-protected prelude to the building. (...) This project is a very good contribution to the brief, as its clear structure and suitable design appeal render it a convincing nursery school scheme."

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Start of construction of Horb police station

At the beginning of the year, construction work has began on the new police station in Horb.
Due to the boundary conditions of the hillside plot, the scheme has been composed in a plinth level and two upper levels that make use of the performance of a timber construction. As a locally sourced building material with a long standing regional tradition, timber perfectly meets the design’s context, as well as future requirements. Completion of the new building is scheduled for 2024.

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1st prize in Kempten

Teaming up with knippershelbig Ingenieure, we are delighted to have won 1st prize in the Illersteg Kempten competition. The jury's citation: "The project team proposes a deliberately minimalist, unobtrusive scheme for the new Illersteg, combined with a hybrid construction that is highly innovative with regard to technology and design. The extremely intelligent combination of the materials steel, wood and carbon reinforced concrete as well as the modular design are convincing. The project takes a radically new approach and is therefore one of a kind. With its distinguished, low-key character, the building responds well to the location and its surroundings. The filigree support is set off-center, allowing an almost undisturbed view onto the watercourse of the Iller. At the eastern entrance, the transition to the waterfront has been designed to be appealing and will redefine this spot into a meeting place (without the pressure to consume). Onlookers perceive the structural design as clear and traceable. Of particular quality is the design of the bridge's soffit made of wood, which is easily visible from the banks of the Iller.  The jury was also convinced by the transitions to the abutments and thus to the riverbank..."

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Multihalle Mannheim

We are pleased to have been awarded the contract to support fast+epp Ingenieure with execution planning, tendering, awarding and site supervision for the repair and modernisation of the timber roof construction of the Mannheim Multihalle.
It was erected as a temporary structure by architects Frei Otto and Carlfried Mutschler on the occasion of the 1975 National Horticultural Show in Mannheim. Otto chose a new structural design approach for the hall featuring a self-supporting grid shell construction made of wood. The maximum span of the structure is approximately 60 meters with a height of 20 meters. In total, the construction covers an area of approx. 7,400 m². The multi-hall was declared a cultural monument and granted listed building status in 1998 because of its worldwide unique design and filigree construction. In 2019, it received the status of "cultural monument of national significance". The renovation work is scheduled to be completed by 2027.

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Depot Muenster is under constrcution

The construction work on the AWS Depot Burgholzstraße in Stuttgart-Münster has started. The design envisages two structures: A four-storey service building with a cafeteria, changing rooms and administration rooms and a vehicle canopy for around 45 refuse collection vehicles.
The completion of the facility is planned for 2025.

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Winner! Kreativforum in Hallstadt

Birk Heilmeyer and Frenzel Architekten win 1st prize in the competition for the Kreativforum at the Cleantech Innovation Park in Hallstadt!
"Through its hall-like building volume, the Kreativforum refers to the industrial history of the site. It confidently takes its place as a genuine reception building in the front row to the street. Two squares have been created: The longitudinal side of the forum opens up the campus entrance to the south as a public square and welcomes arriving visitors with great visibility. To the west, the building appears as a solitary structure facing the second square, which is reserved for campus occupants.
The new Kreativforum features a clear cut design and facilitates a good orientation also within the building. Visitors can enter from both squares to be welcomed inside by the large atrium. It is this space that creates the desired communicative setting for the new forum. Grand staircases link the three storeys. (...)
The façade is defined by a surrounding balcony course. It extends the space to the outside, is easily accessible from all interior rooms and offers an additional area of common and communicative space. (...)
The scheme is an extremely convincing contribution that is both contextual and forward-looking" (excerpt from the jury statement)

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3rd prize! Day care centre for children in Neuhausen/ Fildern

We are delighted to have won 3rd prize for our design for a day care centre for children in Neuhausen auf den Fildern. The jury's citation: "The architects propose a 2-storey off-set structure that unfolds along Dietrich-Bonhoeffer-Strasse. The divided building with a flat gable roof perfectly matches the scale of its surroundings. (...) The structured façade of closed and open bays endows the building with a beautiful rhythm. The materiality is reduced to large glazing and a pre-greyed wooden façade that blends naturally into the landscape. Its interior is friendly and furnished in natural colours. The appealing material concept and the attractive design of the façades bear witness to the architects’ straightforward style."

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2nd Prize for car park in Künzelsau with circular economy approach

"The car park's organisation is altogether efficient and comprehensible with regard to its internal zoning and structure. The centrally positioned ramp divides the parking levels in the interior into a northern and a southern parking area. This simultaneously defines the interface for a possible future conversion. (...) A positive aspect is that the proposal for a variable future re-purposing has been consistently pursued from the outset and illustrated in three different scenarios. Consequently, the potential of a flexible conversion does not only show in the sensible interior layout, but also in the façade design. In the event of a conversion, the architects suggest removing the ramp completely or merely on the upper floor, so that the centre turns into an atrium, allowing for versatile and well-lit new spaces for commerce and workstations.(...)
With regard to the structural design, the architects propose a reinforced concrete composite construction for the basement and ground floor, complemented by a timber-concrete composite construction on the upper floors. The grid of the load bearing structure has been seized in the façade design and traces it thus on the outside." (Excerpt from the jury assessment)

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Autumn and Winter Talks 22/ 23

19.09.2022, 18:00 h
Prof. Stephan Birk, Kreislaufeffektive Bauwende mit Holz
Hochschule Luzern

05.10.2022, 14:00 h
Prof. Stephan Birk, Laubholz und  Hybridkonstruktionen
Webinar, Fachagentur Nachwachsende Rohstoffe

07.10.2022, 11:00 h
Prof. Stephan Birk, Mehr Umdenken wagen
DAZ Berlin

20.10.2022, 17:00 h
Prof. Stephan Birk, Ressourceneffizienz im Holzbau
Webinar, proHolz Austria

15.11.2022, 18:00 h
Prof. Stephan Birk, Kreislaufeffektive Bauwende mit Holz
Berliner Hochschule für Technik

22.11.2022, 10:30 h
Liza Heilmeyer, Das Haus der Erde
Evangelische Akademie Bad Boll

02.12.2022, 13.40 h
Prof. Stephan Birk, Wege zu einer neuen (Holz)Baukultur - Ansätze in Lehre, Forschung und Praxis
26. Internationales Holzbau-Forum (IHF), Innsbruck

12.01.2023, 18:00 h
Prof. Stephan Birk, Kreislaufeffektive Bauwende mit Holz
Hochschule Bochum

17.01.2023, 17:00 h
Prof. Stephan Birk, Holzbau - ressourceneffizient und zukunftsfähig
proHolz Tirol, Alpbach

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Honorable mention Forum Constance

Honourable mention in the design competition "New Research and Administration Building Forum" in Constance: "Interpreted from Adorno, design begins with criticising the brief. By dividing the space allocation programme into two buildings, an events forum and a laboratory, the architects created a new ensemble. It incorporates the listed workshop building. Along Universitätsstrasse it stands for the transition to future construction phases, whilst forming a judicious round-off during the transitional period of the first construction phase. Both new buildings have been designed as timber-concrete hybrid constructions comprising a modular system with a high level of prefabrication. The reinforced concrete components contain a large proportion of recycled coarse aggregate. (...)
All in all, the design is an exciting contribution which critically questions the tendering brief and emphatically shows the challenge that the separation of forum and laboratory building pose for knowledge transfer and interdisciplinary collaboration in daily work." (Excerpt from the jury assessment)

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Ground breaking in Senden

In Senden, the groundbreaking ceremony took place for the new construction of the three-field sports hall with spectator stands at the Lange Straße school centre. This extends the existing school campus along Holsteinerstraße and forms the new counterpart to the Werner-Ziegler Middle School. The building is located at the end of the campus' path axis. A cut-out in the building cubature serves as an extension of the forecourt and accentuates the entrance. The hall is realised as a constructive timber building.

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2nd prize in Freiham

In the competition for the new Freiham commercial centre, our design was awarded second prize by the jury: "This robust and sensible structure leads the green axis as a typical urban development element of the new district. The separation of traffic from cars and deliveries was rated very positively. The address formation and access to the two building blocks is from the south from Centa-Hafenbrädl-Strasse. The access to the commercial courtyard with small foyer and information areas and the delivery zones to the building are adequate and redundant due to the two lifts in each case. When developing the floor plans, the designers attached importance to creating interior quality in the circulation areas through well-lit corridors and a small inner courtyard. Overall, the basic structure promises flexible, well-proportioned plots and good usability...".