The architecturally striking Innovationsbogen Augsburg will be the world’s first building with a façade solution manufactured from 100% post-consumer recycled aluminium thanks to WICONA and Hydro CIRCAL 100R.
Situated at the entrance to the new Innovation Park in Augsburg in Germany, the building was designed by Hadi Teherani Architects and is truly remarkable not only for its distinctive arch-shape but also its pioneering sustainability. The aim is to achieve the challenging LEED Platinum green building certification, which requires excellence in a range of areas including carbon, energy, water, waste, materials, occupant health and indoor environmental quality. A key part of achieving this goal for the Innovationsbogen is the specification of a WICONA façade solution manufactured from 100% post-consumer recycled aluminium – a world first.
With a total area of 14,800 square metres, the 145-metre-long, six-storey arch-shaped Innovationsbogen will feature an extensive green roof, creating the appearance that it rises up out of the surrounding flowering meadow landscape. In addition to spacious office areas, the new building offers generous terraces, a modern cafeteria and balcony areas on each floor. The Innovationsbogen, positioned at the southern gate of the new Innovation Park, is located close to the University of Augsburg anchoring a hub of research & development and technology companies and forming one of Europe’s biggest innovation parks. The owner, Walter Beteiligungen und Immobilien AG, aims to make it one of the most modern and innovative office buildings in Augsburg.
Pioneering Sustainability
“The essence of the Innovationsbogen is that we have actually reconciled architecture as design and sustainability as the most important goal of our time”, says Dr. Christian Bergmann, Head of Architecture and PARTNER of Hadi Teherani architects. This is reflected in the building's integration into the landscape, its approach to energy saving and the materials used in its construction.
The extensive green roof will provide cooling in summer, manage and store rainwater and improve biodiversity in the city. The electricity requirements for the entire building will be met by the photovoltaic (PV) solar systems mounted on the roof, while special heating and cooling sails, district heating and groundwater cooling will all be used to provide the building’s climate control. In addition, 70 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations located in the underground parking garage and a 220 bicycle parking area will ensure flexible and future-oriented travel.
A world first: a facade solution with minimal CO2 footprint
The façade of the Innovationsbogen, a project-specific version of the WICONA WICTEC EL evo unitised façade, also makes a significant contribution to its sustainability. For the first time anywhere in the world, the façade system will be manufactured from Hydro CIRCAL 100R aluminium, which is made from 100% post-consumer recycled aluminium. As a result, the CO2 footprint of Hydro CIRCAL is less than 0.5 kg CO2 per kilogram of aluminium. In comparison, the European average is 6.7 kg CO2 per kilogram of aluminium. With 85 tons of Hydro CIRCAL 100R used, this corresponds to a CO2 reduction of 527 tons. The first-of-its-kind solution was developed through close cooperation between Hadi Teherani, Schindler Fenster + Fassaden (Roding) and WICONA.
The façade of the Innovationsbogen is an off-site fabricated unitised system. The units will be fabricated and glazed in the workshop of Schindler Fenster + Fassaden and assembled into complete units before being delivered to site and installed. Working in controlled factory conditions means the production is unaffected by external factors, such as weather conditions at the construction site, and therefore minimises project disruption. Michael Schindler, Managing Director of Schindler Fenster + Fassaden, explains: “We are delighted to be involved in this industry-first pioneering project. For us, as façade builders, it is always of enormous importance that we create long-lasting products and produce them in a responsible way.”
Markus Reindl, Area Sales Manager at WICONA commented: “As a business, we are committed to driving sustainability forward. The Innovationsbogen project is an important milestone and demonstrates how a partnership between businesses that share the same sustainability goals can help set the standard for the decarbonisation of our built environment.”
About Hydro CIRCAL 100R
Norwegian aluminium group Hydro, the parent company of WICONA, is currently the only producer in the world that is able to supply recycled aluminium with a near-zero carbon footprint.
To achieve this, the group has established its own recycling channel. Its Dormagen plant in Germany harvests aluminium from windows and façades during the deconstruction of end-of-life buildings. This is crushed and separated from any foreign and non-metallic materials, before the aluminium is shredded into small segments. These ‘aluminium chips’ are then sent to Hydro’s plant in Clervaux, Luxembourg where they are manufactured into low-carbon billets – Hydro CIRCAL 100R and Hydro CIRCAL 75R. Hydro uses new technology that allows the right alloy to be identified precisely, which supports the production of this construction-quality 100% recycled aluminium, avoiding the addition of any primary aluminium.
Copyright Renderings: Hadi Teherani Architects, Panoptikon
