Building project Experimental Factory

Building project Experimental Factory

Property

The property Sandtorstraße 23was transferred by the State of Saxony-Anhalt on a hereditary lease to ZPVP GmbH, as an operating company of the Experimental Factory. It covers an area of 4,200 m²and is located on the eastern edge of the university campus, next to the Fraunhofer Institute for Factory Operation and Automation IFF. Access on foot is possible via the footpaths along Walter-Rathenau-Straße, Sandtorstraße or through the grounds of Otto-von-Guericke University. Access to the university is via the university entrances at the Uni-Hotel or in Pfälzer Straße.

Architect

The sauerbruch hutton architects partnership was founded in 1989 by Louisa Hutton and Matthias Sauerbruch. Today 30 to 35 employees work in Berlin and London. Built projects to date include office and commercial buildings, laboratories and production facilities, university and residential construction, redevelopment and preservation of historical monuments as well as urban development projects, including GSW headquarters Berlin and the Photonikzentrum Berlin-Adlershof. The Federal Environment Agency in Dessau, the fire brigade and police section 35 in the government quarter of Berlin and the administration building for the University of Hamburg are in the planning stage. The office has been awarded numerous national and international prizes for its realized buildings, including the Schelling Prize, the AIA Award, the Architecture Prize of the German concrete industry and the German Architecture Prize.

Building

The building with a total usable floor space of 3,360 m² is divided into three sections and consists of a five-story office and laboratory section, an experimental hall and a laboratory for electromagnetic compatibility testing (EMC). In detail the building has:

  • 1,268 m² laboratories, cabinets, workstations,
  • 920 m² offices,
  • 642 m² experimental hall,
  • 310 m² EMC – Laboratory,
  • 642 m² experimental hall, 220 m² operational storage area.

The building is covered in an east/west direction by a colored metal roof, in which the window bands, which are mainly on the east side, are harmoniously integrated. A spacious, multi-story foyer connects the hall with the office and laboratory wing. Its orientation in north-south direction allows access to the building from both directions. The foyer is also the main room of the building. It establishes visual contact between the different parts of the Experimental Factory and also offers a day-lit exhibition space on the ground floor. The building is equipped with flexible building services for laboratory use. It is designed as a steel structure, the facades are made of aluminum sheet with double soundproof windows. The south and north sides are closed by attractive glass facades. 49 % of the building is used by the Otto-von-Guericke University for industry-related research. 51 % of the space is available for young innovative companies in the metal and electrical industry.