Geo and Environmental Centre / KAAN Architecten
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The architects have provided text descriptions. KAAN Architecten is proud and excited to present the Geo- and Environmental Centre, their first project in Germany. The winning entry in an international competition was the building, which is a state of the art facility for interdisciplinary scientific research into solutions to environmental problems. The building’s prominent position complements the campus’ urban layout, and emphasizes the Centre’s scientific importance.
The Eberhard Karls University owns the Morgenstelle Campus, which is located on a hill overlooking the valley and Tbingen. The Campus was originally designed in 1960s. Four new buildings will be constructed around a central area, according to Harris + Kurrle Architekten. Geo- and Environmental Centre are part of the planned southward expansion, bringing together previously scattered departments from Earth Sciences Faculty and Institute for Groundwater. The combined facility is intended to encourage interaction between the individual departments and other natural science faculties within the area.
The building is partly recessed into a slope and has six floors. It has a 100 x 50 m footprint and two courtyards, each on different levels to deal with the site’s inclined topography. The southern facade faces the city of Tbingen. It forms the face for Morgenstelle Campus. While the northern facade defines the campus square’s spatial boundary and marks the main entry of the building, the northern façade creates the clear spatial boundary.
Geo- and Environmental Centre blends public teaching and study with specialised research and workspaces. The campus square is easily accessible to the auditorium and seminar rooms, which are conveniently located. The labs and workshops are facing east, while offices line the west and the south. Visitors are drawn to the large, double-height reception hall by their direct view from the square via the open northern façade. The connection with the surroundings is strengthened by the use of the same solid materials, contrasted with the warmth of the dark walnut details. The entrance hall serves as the building’s hub of interaction and meeting. It is also home to student workspaces that offer views to the teaching areas through the glazed interior walls. A free-standing sculptural staircase connects the upper and lowest levels, offering views up. Open galleries offer deeper access to the building’s interior.
The hidden feature of the hall is the precarious kunst am bauMartin Bruno Schmid, a local artist, challenged the building’s statics and split the supporting pillars in half. The columns’ interior is revealed by a vertical slit that cuts through them at seven and a quarter meters high. This challenges the structure’s load-bearing capabilities.
The layout requirements of future flexibility and efficiency dictate that the laboratories and workshops be housed in two small blocks in the eastern portion of the building. They are distributed on all six levels using the principle of “from fine to coarse”, with the workshops for preparation of rock at the bottom and the cleanrooms at top.
From afar, it looks like a block stone with deep ridges that show a glazed volume. The facade is wrapped in horizontal rings that match the style of the existing campus buildings, if you look closely.
The bands measure 2m in height and depth. They are hollow structures covered in prefabricated concrete elements and gratings. This allows for ventilation and maintenance. The bands provide light control and sun shading, making external sun blinds unnecessary. The Centre’s specialised activities are more prominently displayed, making them visible on the Campus, especially at night when the building is lit up at night. The faade bands have long uninterrupted views because they are held up by shear walls, which are separated from the continuous mullionless glass. These concrete fins are used as external load-bearing support, allowing for interior layout flexibility.
The meeting rooms and offices are linked by internal corridors along the north, west, and south faades. These enclose the two inner patios. The courtyards are reminiscent of Tbingen’s historic centre, where the old offices used to be located. They have intricate stone-clad facades and neat rows windows. This creates a familiar environment for the inner offices that compensates for the lack of a view to the outside.
The laboratory blocks are connected to the offices by a perpendicular axis. It houses all the necessary functional areas for day-today operations. It is located at the heart of the building and serves as a space for GUZ staff to socialise, and a spatial orientation point between the patios. The surrounding grassy slopes can be seen through a private and intimate southern courtyard. The northern one views out over the entrance hall towards campus square and links to the open public spaces. “Although it is dedicated solely to the earth, it is a building designed for people based upon easy access, visibility, communication and accessibility,” says Prof. Dikkie Scio, cofounder of KAAN Architecten.
