Südwestmetall - Association and office building

A restricted design competition was held for the planned construction of a new association and office building in Ulm. The brief was to design an "energy-plus building" that would be a meeting point for the region's business community and would contain large event rooms as well as meeting rooms and offices. Parking spaces were to be provided in the basement levels.

In the competition design, the basement levels with their earth pressure-loaded outer walls and the requirements for watertightness were planned entirely as a reinforced concrete structure. The cores and walls in the northern part of the building are also constructed in reinforced concrete on the first floor and upper floors and serve to reinforce the building. The use of CO2-minimized cements is planned for all concrete components. The ceilings on the floors above ground are made from a combination of steel and timber beams. The main girders, which span further, are designed as steel girders/steel trusses, while wooden beams are used for the secondary girders. The roofing is made of wooden panels/panel elements, e.g. laminated veneer lumber or stacked board elements. In order to meet the high requirements for flexibility and freedom from columns in the hall area on the first floor, a spatial steel truss system is used on the second floor. The three intersecting truss girders surround the catering and satellite room area on the first floor.

Compared to conventional construction methods, the planned steel/wood construction offers a high degree of prefabrication and the possibility of fast, economical assembly and execution. A high sustainability value is achieved through the use of sustainable and appropriate building materials as well as a construction that can be dismantled in its essential components.