New administrative building for BSU

© rasmussen | brunke | sauer

German office rasmussen | brunke | sauer shared with us their design of the new administrative building for BSU in Hamburg, Germany. It was an invited competition and they won the first prize ex aequo with three other offices (Sauerbruch Hutton, Behnisch Architects and GAP). More images and architect’s description after the break.

Situated in Hamburg Wilhelmsburg vis-à-vis the area of the IGS 2013 (International Garden Exhibition 2013) the new administrative building for the “Behörde für Stadtentwicklung und Ummwelt (BSU)” is one of the central buildings of the IBA 2013 (International Building Exhibition 2013).

It is integrated into a greater urban masterplan that aims on linking the central part of the city of Hamburg north of the river Elbe with the southern districts.

The aim of the new building itself is to concentrate the different units of the BSU that are nowadays distributed widespread at different locations in the central city. The building will house around 1400 working places plus additional functions and will cover an area of around 58000 m² in total.

Operating in the boundaries of the strict and dense conditions of the building lot defined by the urban master plan, a three dimensional sculptural building approach, integrating the landscape of the surroundings into the structure, is developed. Therefore it is possible to walk literally through the building without entering it. The strong meandered body of the building is culminating in a massive high point which functions as a landmark and widely seen symbol of the new BSU.

The monolithic white body of the upper floors seems like floating over the warm coloured ground floor. While the Ground floor, with its public functions is clearly inviting visitors to enter and explore the building the upper body, mainly containing office spaces, acts more diffuse. It is neither totally transparent nor is it a completely introverted. The perception lies in between.

The buildings façade is besides atmospheric and aesthetic parameters designed as an energetic active façade using phase change material to save solar energy that can be used time-delayed as thermal energy for the buildings energy household.

The façade is only a part of an overall energy concept that ensure a high standard for a low energy office building that was designed to get the DGNB (German Sustainable Building Council) Certification in Gold.