knerer und lang: ZET Sustainability lab - best architects 12

knerer und lang

ZET Sustainability lab

best architects 12

other buildings

Place

Dresden

Photos

Jens Weber

Description

All kinds of research are being carried out in the field of energy technology. To be internationally competitive, competence centres require constantly changing experimental arrangements in order to be able to develop new technologies. A building that meets such requirements has to have an exterior design that differs from conventional institute buildings. A system of vertical blinds embraces the sophisticated form and offers the beholder different impressions of the building’s cubature, depending on perspective. Sometimes the completed form is visible, at other times, the blinds allow a view of the building’s interior, its technical contents and construction. Like a dazzlingly white weld seam, the staircase unites the different levels of the old building with the variously high workrooms of the new structure. The facilities present inside the building contribute to its physical appearance: the wind tunnel’s intake port determines the façade, while solar cells act as cladding. The generated energy is fed into the university’s power network, and is thus used in a rational way.