A vibrant place for encounters
A whole shelf of folders bears the letters ZMM, the abbreviation for the Centre of Microsystems Engineering and Materials whose foundation stone was laid in the summer of 2009. Over thirty million euros was invested in this new centre in Adlershof by the European Union, the federal government, the State of Berlin, and the developer WISTA-MANAGEMENT GMBH. It is to be one of the first laboratory buildings in Germany to receive a seal for its sustainable ecological design.
“To date”, explained Jörg Israel, head of the technology centre and project manager for the new building, “this seal was awarded to office buildings only. We set the architects the task of finding a sustainable solution with respect to economy, ecology and social aspects for our centre as well.” The new building between Max-Planck- and Justus-von-Liebig-Strasse is intended to expand the offers for companies on the leading edge sector of Microsystems engineering. The land bordered by these two roads and the green area in front will therefore present a virtually self contained campus whose comb like structure suggests openness. The striped façade joins four separate wings and a glass hall – a vibrant place for encounters. Materials like facing concrete and natural stone, façade panels of elongated metal cassettes of diverse colours and anodised aluminium emphasise the transparent technical structure of the four storey building. The outside area – the “wilderness” with its natural growth of trees directly in front of the hall – presents an effective contrast to this transparency.
The design by the Berlin architect’s office Bussmann und Haberer integrated the aspect of sustainability in particular through the use of geothermal heat, roof vegetation and photovoltaic installations. “Also decisive were criteria like flexibility in the layout of rented space, its equipment, and its communicative zones”, explained Jörg Israel. On a total area of 11,500 square metres the centre will be providing physics and chemistry laboratories, office units, a store for hazardous substances, a workshop area and clean rooms whose equipment and supply points can be arranged to the tenants’ wishes. Israel has an eye above all on SMEs. The project was unveiled at this year’s Hannover trade fair, at the end of next year the new centre will be put into operation, and the first tenants are to move in shortly after.