Schulz und Schulz
DBFZ – German Biomass Research Centre
best architects 23
office/administrative buildings
Place
Leipzig, Germany
Studio
Photos
Gustav Willeit
Description
The centre’s newfound presence comes from the relative
positioning of the administration and research buildings, which span a public
forecourt on an arterial road in Leipzig as the institute’s address. The tall
office tower provides a striking landmark in the heterogeneous urban
environment. The buildings for research and administration are connected by a
strip-like structure on the ground floor containing laboratories and seminar
rooms to create an ensemble. The gateway in this strip separates the public
forecourt from the courtyard reserved for DBFZ staff and visitors. Both the
structure and its façade are based on innovative sustainable timber
construction using wood sourced from local forestry operations. The
load-bearing inner and outer walls of the upper floors were built using a
timber frame construction method, while the floors are timber-and-concrete
composite slabs. Building-high cores made of recycled concrete for vertical
circulation and services provide reinforcement for the structure. The choice of
timber for both the building shell and façade cladding offers several
energy-saving and environmental advantages: resource-efficient use of a
renewable raw material for both structural and finishing elements, increased
comfort and workplace quality thanks to the positive human response to wood,
short construction times due to the high prefabrication level of the timber
components, and easy dismantling and recycling.