PROJECT

Our aim as a team is to create a solution for climate change in the urban context.

We have to rethink our view on cities and to change the built environment in order to achieve greater sustainability and address social and economic demands at the same time.

This is where the extension of Café Ada acts as an example for a transferable approach.

BUILDING DESIGN

By extending the building vertically we are able to create much-needed affordable living space with a minimal carbon footprint and without sealing additional land.

The design focuses on residents who are interested in social participation. With floor plans of different sizes, the building provides living space for the growing demand for one or two-person households as well as for families of up to four people. Essential for that concept is to reduce the floor area per person and to offer common areas for flexible use.

From the courtyard, an exterior stairway and an elevator lead up to the addition of Cafe Ada. An open atrium connects all stories and provides access to the apartments.
A service layer including the kitchens and bathrooms is attached to the atrium. It opens up towards the open living spaces and the façade.

Cost-effective and fast to build constructions can be achieved by solid timber elements. A great share of prefabrication, minimal loads and separable components are advantages of this construction. Also, solid timber constructions enable high fire protection that we need for multi-storey extensions.

The engineering and construction concept is aligned along the follows following principles: Reducing heat losses by a highly insulated building envelope which is optimized for solar passive gains. Next, active use of solar energy on façade and roof to produce heat and electricity. Also, a grid friendly operation is enabled by storage systems in combination with an intelligent management system.

HOUSE DEMONSTRATION UNIT

From our Building Design, we extract one representative apartment, that is being built as our House Demonstration Unit in Wuppertal.

It will be exhibited during the finals of the Solar Decathlon Europe 21/22, 10 – 26 june in Wuppertal.