Recycling House Hanover

Project description

Awarded for sustainability:

Experimental residential construction with recycled fibre cement panels. Committed to the value of "gray energy" and the conservation of resources in our environment, recycled sauna benches, old industrial cast glass panels and EQUITONE fibre cement panels are given a second life as the facade of an innovative pilot and research project on the former expo area in Hanover / Kronsberg.

Cityförster Architekten designed a “recycling house” for Gundlach Bau und Immobilien GmbH, which is a prototype that tests the possibilities and potentials of various types of recycling and was recently awarded a special prize for sustainability at the German Facade Prize 2020 for ventilated curtain facades. The jury was impressed by the exemplary concept, according to which the facade was clad with up to 90 percent reused building elements that were obtained locally from the client's demolition and renovation projects. In contrast to composite facades, the rear-ventilated curtain wall VHF can fully exploit its advantages as a decomposable and reusable system

The still completely intact, originally green fibre cement panels date from 2007. Now coated in deep black, together with the elements made of profiled glass, they shape the characteristic image of the new facade. The large-format facade panels are visibly attached to a wooden substructure. Non-flammable and with a lifespan of over 50 years, the panels could be reused without hesitation.

The compact three-storey structure with roof terrace offers plenty of living space on 145 square meters. In interior design, too, more than half of the building materials used come from recycled stocks. The solid wood construction was insulated, for example, with recycled cocoa bean sacks.