An exemplary renovation project is now demonstrating solutions for a five-story apartment house built in 1958 in Mannheim – solutions which may be applicable to numerous multiple-story residential buildings from the postwar era. The renovation is based on an energy concept which involves integral planning. In the initial stage of the work, the original apartment layouts were redesigned in order to raise the solar energy yield and to create a comfortable dwelling ambience.

The energy concept’s centerpiece is a double facade with an air-cooled collector made of a polycarbonate plate (insulation value or: 0.83 W/[m²K]). In the cooler part of the year, sun-warmed air is distributed throughout the building by means of this collector facade. In summer, the natural cooling effect of the ground is used in this same way for air conditioning. A pebble-bed storage unit in the basement serves as a buffer. The energy concept is complemented by a ventilation system using heat recovery.

Ecological, architectonic and economically convincing

Using these measures, the annual heating requirement of 273 kWh/m²a was reduced to some 10 to 14 kWh/m²a. Moreover, the air-collector facade makes it possible to accommodate architectonic characteristics of the era of the building’s construction, and thus to preserve typical elements. The facade’s building cost corresponds to the cost of classic multi-layer insulation. The realized concept represents an ecological, architectonic and economically convincing alternative to standard renovation practices in residential structures.

Project Operation:
Technische Universität Darmstadt
Fachbereich Architektur
El-Lissitzky-Straße 1
64287 Darmstadt
Telefon    06151 16-75924
presse@architektur.tu-darmstadt.de
www.architektur.tu-darmstadt.de

Cooperation Partner:
GBG Mannheimer Wohnungsbaugesellschaft mbH, Mannheim
mail@gbg-mannheim.de
www.gbg-mannheim.de

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