DHBW NEW FACULTY OF ENGINEERING

With the implementation of the winning design for the new building for the Faculty of Engineering by 3XN-Architects, it has been possible to accommodatethe Faculty of Engineering of the Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University at a central location in the immediate vicinity of the university campus, the Stuttgart canteen and the city garden.

The new building houses the entire Faculty of Engineering with a variety of uses such as offices, lecture halls, laboratories, workshops, engine test benches and a wind tunnel.

The planning was implemented using the BIM method. The load-bearing structure was reduced to the necessary minimum and consists of point-supported flat slabs and bracing cores. Large parts of the flat slabs were implemented as hollow core slabs to reduce the concrete mass and CO₂ emissions. In the wide-span ceiling areas, the ceiling thicknesses were optimized by using prestressing without bonding.

The highlights and challenges in this construction were the exposed concrete spiral staircase projecting from the ceiling edges and the 31 m wide steel and glass roof above the atrium. The planned spiral staircase could be realized by parameterized planning and variant analysis, projecting 8 m from the ceiling edges. The dynamic shape of the atrium roof was developed using the guiding principles of the "Form Follows Force" methodology.