At the University of Osnabrück, Germany, there was enough space for curriculum and research, but there was no comfortable space where both students and teachers could gather to discuss interesting topics or just relax after a busy weekday.
For these purposes, the university was given the use of a historic building - a garage, which was tactfully reconstructed by the Ahrens + Pörtner Architekten workshop. To adapt the building for a public function, all internal partitions had to be removed. The old brickwork was partially abandoned - it now serves as a decorative function, as well as the "exposed" steel trusses that support the roof. The rounded openings of the former gates have been transformed into floor-to-ceiling glazed windows.
The customer of the project was, of course, the University of Osnabrück itself. “Our idea was to create a place that was fundamentally different from anything that previously constituted the educational process at our university,” explains the president of the institution, Andreas Bertram. “Together with the construction of this building, we wanted to change the format of training.”
The superstructure in this concept gave additional space - more than 200 square meters of free space and a bar with sanitary equipment. This area is intended for various events: organizing film screenings, theater performances and small concerts. In the bar, university people are pleased with live music, soft lighting and comfortable chairs. On the second of three floors, there is a recreation room, where fiction and periodicals are freely available on bookshelves, as well as comfortable bean bags and sofas.
The utility part - kitchen, pantry and refrigeration room - perfectly complements the modernization project. The budget was € 2.4 million, the implementation process took four years.
The superstructure over the former garage with huge window openings and the noble patina of RHEINZINK titanium-zinc sheet on the facade looks great in combination with the natural materials used in the project. RHEINZINK horizontal titanium-zinc panels are similar to universal RHEINZINK panels and visually resemble wooden facades. Elements with double-sided edge profiling and a clearly defined 20 mm seam are mounted using a special RHEINZINK guide. This technology allows thermal linear expansion. The zinc panel, coupled with a large amount of glass, emphasizes the modernity of the building and defines its expressiveness in a historical context. Dälken-Böckenholt carried out construction and installation work on metal at the facility (facades and roofs).
