Student cube becomes Atelier House
Since 2016, twelve students have been able to live, study and research in a completely redesigned building in the heart of Niederrad. The transportable “CUBITY” made of wood and glass has now been awarded a prize in the “Exemplary Buildings in the State of Hesse” competition. The official award ceremony for “Exemplary Buildings in the State of Hesse” took place in Frankfurt-Niederrad on Monday, 21.02.2022.
Photo: Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Anett-Maud Joppien M. Arch. BDA, TU Darmstadt, Claudia Rathgeber, Hessian Ministry of Finance HMdF, Dipl.-Ing. Florian Dreher, Project Manager of the award procedure “Exemplary Buildings in the State of Hesse – Prize for Architecture and Urban Development”/AKH , Dipl.-Ing. Benjamin Trautmann, TU Darmstadt (from right to left) Source: NZ 2022
The CUBITY on the road
The CUBITY-LivingLAB is now becoming a pioneering place for knowledge transformation in the municipality of Merzenich in North Rhine-Westphalia.
In the future, people from all over the world will temporarily research and live in CUBITY, focusing on architecture, urban planning, nature and landscape development in the context of structural change in the Rhenish mining area at the Hambach open-cast mine.
The Britta and Ulrich Findeisen Foundation for Art and Architecture, based in Cologne, has acquired the building. Over the next few weeks, CUBITY will be dismantled and moved from Frankfurt to Poolplatz in the municipality of Merzenich in the district of Dueren. There it will be rebuilt as a CUBITY Atelier House with a new utilization concept as a pioneering location for education, teaching and research.
An outstanding property with a future
Before the modular building is relocated, the architects, builders and project partners receive the prestigious award in the field of sustainable planning and construction in the New Construction award category, Exemplary Buildings in the State of Hesse 2020, from the State of Hesse and the Hesse Chamber of Architects and Urban Planners (AKH).
The award procedure “Exemplary Buildings in the State of Hesse – Prize for Architecture and Urban Development” is jointly awarded every three years by the State of Hesse, represented by the Hessian Ministry of Finance, and the Chamber of Architects and Town Planners of Hesse. The award has been presented since 1954 and is one of the oldest recognized architecture prizes in Germany. This year, the “Exemplary Buildings” will be awarded for the first time for architecture and urban planning, as the transformation of cities can only succeed if all disciplines work together.
Assessment of the jury
With a comprehensive, holistic understanding of sustainability, the CUBITY project impresses with an innovative approach to the current topic of new forms of living. The sustainable life cycle of CUBITY is particularly evident in the form of the remarkable, resource-conserving construction method, which underlines the fundamental approach of sufficiency. In particular, the targeted examination of spatial and thermal self-limitation surpasses the otherwise predominantly applied sustainability in the choice of materials, to which many construction projects are limited.
The consideration of private spaces and the climatic-innovative considerations are particularly successful in their implementation. The focus on social, communal spaces and the correspondingly small private spaces are proof of a sustainable, solidary form of living. Shared space is emphasized, which has a resource-saving effect on the entire residential community and makes CUBITY an exemplary project.
CUBITY has managed to position itself as a pioneer in the establishment of new forms of living in urban areas through sufficiency and energy efficiency. As a student residence, the project demonstrates its relevance to everyday life and proves itself in its functionality and flexibility.
The jury recognized the project as an effective, innovative and sustainable contribution to the current debate on sustainable housing alternatives.
Further information can be found at: www.akh.de/baukultur/
A futuristic building as an inspiration for future projects
The Britta and Ulrich Findeisen Foundation for Art and Architecture (Cologne) has purchased the cube-shaped lightweight building with an internal area of 16 by 16 meters and twelve stacked residential cubes with a total of 80 bases. In spring, it will be dismantled and moved to the Poolplatz in the municipality of Merzenich in the district of Dueren. There it will serve as a studio building with a new utilization concept as a pioneering location for education, teaching and research.
Photo: Lothar Klein, General Representative of the Mayor of Merzenich, Benjamin Trautmann, TU Darmstadt, Holger Lack, Head of Regional Center Frankfurt, Christine Langer, Project Development – both Nassauische Heimstätte, Claudia Rathgeber, Hessian Ministry of Finance (HMdF), Moritz Beul, Member of the Board of DFH Deutsche Fertighaus Holding AG, Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Anett-Maud Joppien M. Arch. BDA, TU Darmstadt, Dipl.-Ing. Florian Dreher, Project Manager of the Exemplary Buildings Award in the State of Hesse/AKH, Dipl.-Ing. Markus Schmale, Architect BDA, Chairman of the Board of the Foundation, (from left to right) Source: NZ 2022
“At first, only women applied,” recalled the architect, Professor Anett-Maud Joppien (TU Darmstadt), at the award ceremony on Monday. “Later, men also took courage.” The “CUBITY” was special right from the start. In 2013, Joppien and 50 students created the world’s first “plus-energy student residence” in nine months, exhibited it in Versailles near Paris and won the International Solar Prize for it.
As a “LivingLab” (freely translated as “Living Laboratory”) with the maxim “affordable living, plenty of space for community and maximum energy efficiency,” the building came to Adolf-Miersch-Strasse in Niederrad in 2015. Since 2016, twelve students have lived in it on a property owned by Nassauischen Heimstätte. From the very beginning, “CUBITY” was supported by the state of Hesse. Deutsche Fertighaus Holding AG was involved in the construction. As part of a three-year research project, energy and social science monitoring was carried out.
A futuristic building as an inspiration for future projects
“This will move the whole region,” said Lothar Klein, representative of the mayor of Merzenich, at the award ceremony. “CUBITY is beautiful, exciting and inspiring. Especially when people from all over the world come to the Hambach open-cast mine and see the development of the new era.”
Claudia Rathgeber from the Hessian Ministry of Finance and Florian Dreher as project manager of the “Exemplary Buildings in the State of Hesse” award procedure honored Joppien with the prize for architecture and urban development. The specifications had been implemented by her in an unprecedented manner and the three-year energy and social science monitoring also provided plenty of “opportunities for the life of tomorrow”
Construction of the CUBITY Atelier House as a pioneering place for knowledge transformation in the municipality of Merzenich (NRW)
From mid-2022, people from all over the world will be able to temporarily research and live in CUBITY on the topics of architecture, urban planning, nature and landscape development as part of the structural change at the Hambach open-cast mine. Among other things, the topics of Hambach open-cast mine, Hambach Forest and the transformation of Alt-Morschenich into a “place of the future” can be examined in more detail here.