Nickl & Partner Architekten

Description

The Helmholtz Institute in the high-tech city of Ulm is a unique national centre of excellence specialising in electrochemical energy storage. The new institute building follows the master plan for the Oberer Eselsberg science park, harmoniously inserting itself into the planned development. The institute is based on a modular design. Looking onto the outer and inner courtyards are large rooms that can be divided as needed into several laboratories. The open layout makes it is possible to react flexibly to the individual requirements of future research groups. In addition to general chemical and physical labs, there are special labs on the ground floor and basement level, with offices above. Central communication areas offer space for research exchanges. The ground floor provides access to an inviting inner courtyard with seminar rooms facing onto it. In the homogeneous outer façade layer of perforated sheet metal elements, holes of various sizes create intriguing optical interference patterns.