Sustainable, simple, beautiful!

It’s a simple concept: the simpler something is formulated, the more
easily it is understood. This is also true of the architectural language
of the Hitachi Columbus Campus in Mannheim, Germany. With its
transparent appearance, the office complex by AllesWirdGut stands for a
sustainable corporate attitude—and also demonstrates that
resource-saving construction, climate-neutral operation, and
contemporary aesthetic need not at all be conflicting interests.

The campus consists of four individual built volumes defining a central
square open on all sides. Trees alternate with lawns and unsealed
surfaced areas. Parks bordering on the premises extend towards the
middle and create an urban space with a green ambience, which all
building entrances are oriented to. This leaves the areas right in front
of the office buildings open to accommodate inviting entrance areas and
enlivening gastronomic offerings. Facing Gorxheimer Straße, a modern
work and business sphere, easily visible from all directions, presents
itself to the city. The maximum permitted building height for this part
was not used to the full, which allows for an expansive roof garden with
a lushly greened pergola and a photovoltaic system.

The goal of the Hitachi Columbus Campus is climate-neutral building
operation. It means that there is as much energy produced as is needed.
The photovoltaic system generates electricity which can be used
immediately or stored. The ventilation system is based on solar
chimneys, a technology that has been proven in warm countries for
centuries: Fresh air from under the building moves upward through the
individual riser shafts. Heating is done with low-temperature heat
pumps, and for cooling, groundwater is used. Both the photovoltaic and
the solar chimney systems work on the outside of the building skin and
therefore are consciously made visible.

The above-ground section of the four-story office buildings is a wood
and concrete hybrid construction mostly built from prefabricated
elements. This saves construction time and, by using a high share of
renewable materials on both the in- and outsides, takes account of the
ecological objectives of the Hitachi Columbus Campus: While the cozy
material of wood makesfor homey comfort in the flexible work spheres
inside, the weather-protective projecting concrete parts on the exterior
provide for maximum durability of the façade. Combined, they give the
campus lasting, that is, sustainable, beauty.