ArchShowcase 
Sumit Singhal
Sumit Singhal loves modern architecture. He comes from a family of builders who have built more than 20 projects in the last ten years near Delhi in India. He has recently started writing about the architectural projects that catch his imagination. Central Building at Leuphana University in Lüneburg, Germany by Studio LibeskindApril 5th, 2017 by Sumit Singhal
Article source: Studio Libeskind The New Central Building at Leuphana University of Lüneburg, designed in collaboration with Daniel Libeskind, provides the campus with a landmark building that promotes the vision of innovation and excellence for the university. “The building represents our University at its best for the future. It establishes the new agora for students and professors as well as other visitors to foster the exchange of ideas, to inspire creativity and to support a vibrant academic life. It will be a landmark of Lüneburg’s culture,” said Leuphana President Sascha Spoun.  Image Courtesy © Studio Libeskind
 Image Courtesy © Studio Libeskind The 13,000 sq. m. (139,930 sq. ft.) zinc clad building integrates the Research Center, the Student Center, the Seminar Center and the Auditorium into one single structure. This new configuration promotes cross disciplinary interaction and a dynamic learning environment for the students and faculty alike. Each of the functions are housed in four individually shaped and mutually interlinking volumes that form a major composite structure achieving the maximum efficiency in terms of usage, structure, energy consumption and architectural impact.  Image Courtesy © Studio Libeskind  Image Courtesy © Studio Libeskind “For the New Central Building at Leuphana, I was inspired by the ethos of the University,” said architect and Professor Daniel Libeskind. “Leuphana is an incubator for new ideas, innovation, research and discovery. The new building is imbued with these principles.”  Image Courtesy © Studio Libeskind  Image Courtesy © Studio Libeskind As visitors enter the building they will encounter the swooping volume of the seminar center and a triple height atrium awash in light that is ushered in by way of a half dozen skylights. Interior stairwells and bridges crisscross the volume revealing the complexity of the space. Exposed concrete and white canted walls are accentuated with rich smoked oak parquet flooring throughout the building. Within the lobby is a massive red geometric form that articulates the exterior of the Libeskind Auditorium and the main stair. Painted red walls run throughout the building to provide additional way-finding and orientation.  Image Courtesy © Studio Libeskind  Image Courtesy © Studio Libeskind The seminar center provides more spaces for workshops, classes and seminars and the “Raum der Stille” (“Room of Silence”). This multi-confessional devotion and meditation room is a place for silence and reflection and features a wall with a handcrafted fractal pattern of custom cut aluminum tiles. Each tile is painted a pearlescent shade of white to enhance the experience of quiet reflection.  Image Courtesy © Studio Libeskind  Image Courtesy © Studio Libeskind The auditorium provides flexible seating arrangements for different scenarios of use by the University as well as by the city of Lüneburg and the general public: 1100 people for lectures, and is adaptable for classical concerts or theater performances. Red cushion stacked seats line one wall and can be pulled out for the auditorium’s use. Warm-toned acoustical panels accented by softly lit crossing lines cover the auditorium walls.  Image Courtesy © Studio Libeskind  Image Courtesy © Studio Libeskind The Research Center provides a variety of spaces for groups and single persons working and teaching, and a balcony on the top floors that overlooks the campus and building’s sloping green roof. The green roof covers the lower volumes of the building.  Image Courtesy © Studio Libeskind  Image Courtesy © Studio Libeskind In the development of the design, student participation was integrated as part of a tradition of Leuphana University to engage students in the process of the changing University campus. In the seminars held by Professor Libeskind and other teachers at the University, the students had the opportunity to gain insights into the complex questions of various design stages, to bring forward their own perspectives and develop solutions which found their way into the execution of the project. Along with the building’s design, topics that the students engaged included landscape design, the way-finding system, and interior design. In addition the design for the multi-confessional devotion and meditation “Raum der Stille” room design was the subject of a seminar. Underlying this participation is the emphasis towards creating an educational space that allows for communication, creativity and an exchange of knowledge that is reflected in the design. RW+ acted as Architect of Record and provided the detail design, tender documentation and site supervision. Studio Libeskind provided artistic supervision during design and construction.  Image Courtesy © Studio Libeskind  Image Courtesy © Studio Libeskind “The idea for this project was to create a hub that would inspire the students through multiple connected spaces, infused with natural light and exciting new geometries,” said architect Daniel Libeskind. “It was a true creative collaboration by incorporating students ideas about program and design elements into the final design.”  Image Courtesy © Studio Libeskind  Image Courtesy © Studio Libeskind Sustainability was considered throughout the design and construction of the building. It will operate at zero emissions, due to energy supply based on renewables and its outstanding energy efficiency. Green roofs, a grey water system and an innovative structural Cobiax system further improve resource efficiency of the New Central Building. Thus, it is far beyond the EnEV (Energieeinsparverordnung = Energy-Saving Regulation) standard, which sets energy requirements for new buildings in Germany and is a demonstration project of the Bundeswirtschaftsministerium (Federal Ministry of Economy) for energy-optimized design.  Image Courtesy © Studio Libeskind  Image Courtesy © Studio Libeskind The new building is located on the university’s main campus in the southern part of Lüneburg. The university evolved from a pedagogical/teacher’s college, which was founded in 1946. Today the main focuses are culture, education, economy and sustainability. More than 9,000 students are currently enrolled  Image Courtesy © Studio Libeskind  Image Courtesy © Studio Libeskind About Daniel Libeskind/ Studio Libeskind  Image Courtesy © Studio Libeskind About Leuphana University  Image Courtesy © Studio Libeskind  Image Courtesy © Studio Libeskind  Image Courtesy © Studio Libeskind
Contact Studio Libeskind
Categories: Building, University, University Building |
|
|
|||||
|
|
|||||
|
|||||
email
Facebook
Twitter
RSS Feed
