Hall S // 46/

Graf-Zeppelin Halle in Altenkirchen

In the industrial and commercial area to the east of the town of Altenkirchen in the Westerwald, opposite the administration building of Schumann Project GmbH, Hall S // 46 forms the prelude to the Graf-Zeppelin Hallen commercial ensemble that is now being built.

Designed as storage and production space for the adjacent furniture workshops, the hall extends from north to south. Dividable into four units, the sixty-meter-long hall provides for an extension of an additional sixty meters. This will create a total area of almost three thousand square meters.

The hall is constructed according to the principle of beams on columns. The forty-meter-long laminated beams with a center-to-center distance of six meters span twenty-four meters freely and cantilever a further eight meters to the east and west. Connected by horizontal bars and covered with trapezoidal sheet, the balanced load-bearing structure is optimized by the targeted distribution of the roof loads in combination with the structural order; the result is beam cross-sections of twenty-four by one hundred and twenty centimetres.

The columns are partially clamped in the transverse direction and held in the longitudinal direction by three external pressure rods. Through the lateral flanks, they serve as fastenings for the timber beams and generate the abutment for the translucent façade elements in the lower area.

The polycarbonate multi-chamber elements create a light-flooded interior with high thermal insulation and impressive cost- efficiency. The façade, which is divided into ten sections, integrates four two-part sectional doors on the east façade and four entrance doors on the west side. The north and south façades are clad with the polycarbonate elements. For the extension to the south, the façade substructure including the wooden supports can be moved.

SHEV flaps in the roof, together with the tilting function of the doors in the upper area, enable natural ventilation of the entire hall area, as well as the possibility of night-time cooling. The cantilevered roof, together with the translucent façade elements, provides structural shading. The solid floor slab serves as a storage medium for solar gains when the sun is low in winter and as a cooling reservoir in summer. Four heat pumps on the roof serve as air heating.

The building follows the principle of simplicity, makes use of simple, almost primitive joining and assembly techniques, aims to question about current standards and oppose the usually complex, technically elaborate solutions with structurally simple solutions. In doing so, it creates a high and appropriate level of quality and flexibility in the space and envelope.

• Lead Architects: Sven Aretz, Jakob Dürr, Ben Schumann
• Client:  Schumann Project GmbH
• Photography: Ben Schumann