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Entrance complex to the Inselpark

WÄLDERHAUS

WÄLDERHAUS im Juni 2013, Bild: IBA Hamburg GmbH / Bernadette Grimmenstein WÄLDERHAUS im Januar 2013, Bild: IBA Hamburg GmbH / Bernadette Grimmenstein WÄLDERHAUS im Januar 2013, Bild: IBA Hamburg GmbH / Bernadette Grimmenstein WÄLDERHAUS im Januar 2013, Bild: IBA Hamburg GmbH / Bernadette Grimmenstein WÄLDERHAUS im Januar 2013, Bild: IBA Hamburg GmbH / Bernadette Grimmenstein WÄLDERHAUS im Januar 2013, Bild: IBA Hamburg GmbH / Bernadette Grimmenstein

 

 

WÄLDERHAUS

 

The WÄLDERHAUS (FOREST HOUSE) is a building that is completely given over to all things woodland, in the very heart of Wilhelmsburg Central. The themes of forest and wood play a major role in two respects. Firstly, wood is used within the structure of the building as a sustainable construction material, and worked into the façade; and secondly, the WÄLDERHAUS is the venue for an exhibition that looks at the relationship between the forest, the city, and its residents.


A Multi-Purpose Exhibition Venue and Hotel Building

The building, designed by the Hamburg-based firm Studio Andreas Heller Architects & Designers, is divided between two main uses. The two lowest floors of the five-storey structure are home to a permanent exhibition on forests and sustainability. This exhibition documents and discusses the many characteristics of forests, and demonstrates the relationship of city dwellers to the forest, as well as the biological diversity of woods in a large city like Hamburg. On these two floors the FOREST HOUSE also offers plenty of room, about 650 sqm, for events: there are rooms for seminars and training courses with an environmental focus, as well as a restaurant. The space serves the “Forest Forum” as a platform for exchange between the construction, energy, and forestry industries. The top three floors of the building are home to the Raphael Hotel WÄLDERHAUS.

This combination of different functions provides visitors with a wide range of possibilities, as an information centre on forestry and sustainability, as a conference venue, or as a day trip destination for the whole family. The WÄLDERHAUS represents a new major draw within Hamburg and northern Germany.

 

A Lively Façade

One special feature of the building, the top three floors of which are made entirely of solid wood, is its “inhabited” larch wood façade. This features embedded plant-based nests that can be inhabited by birds and insects. The planted roof also offers a habitat for plants and animals.

The building tapers upwards, and the interplay between the slightly irregular wooden façade and the greenery makes it reminiscent of a huge tree.

The High Demands of the Energy Concept

Overall, the WÄLDERHAUS will use a third less energy than is prescribed in the 2009 German energy saving regulations, due to good insulation and efficient housing technology. A significant proportion of the building's energy will also come from the in-house photovoltaic and geothermal systems.

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ADDRESS

Am Inselpark 19
21109 Hamburg

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SPECIFICATIONS

Beginning of construction:
December 2010

Completion:
July 2012

Project costs:
14 Mio. Euro

Property size:
approx. 2,130 sqm

Gross floor area:
approx. 6,000 sq m

Utilisation: exhibition, gastronomy, seminar rooms, 82 hotel rooms

Energy standard:
EnEV 2009       minus 30 %

Energy and heating supply:
Integrated Energy Network Wilhelmsburg Central, geothermic, photovoltaic

ARCHITECTS

Studio Andreas Heller GmbH Architects & Designers, Hamburg

Landscaping:
WES & Partner Landschaftsarchitekten, Hamburg

INVESTORS

Schutzgemeinschaft Deutscher Wald e.V.
Landesverband Hamburg

LINKS

 

www.waelderhaus.de