Stiftung Vivendra

At the general renovation, quite a number of challenges had to be overcome. A peculiarity was that the load-bearing capacity of the wall - a type of steel frame construction with infill - was statically insufficient. That is why the anchoring and the load transfer of the new building shell had to be effected via the ceilings. This task was performed by means of consoles with angle brackets, which were adjustable in order to level deviating facade depths at the same time. These consoles formed the basis for an intelligent facade construction with an optimal insulation in terms of energy efficiency (with which existing massive thermal bridges were also eliminated) towards the wall and a multi-layered design towards the outside: on a lathing providing a rear-ventilation space of 4 cm, the “KNAUF AQUAPANEL Cement Board Outdoor“ (portland cement and aggregates, reinforced on both sides and with edge reinforcement) was screwed, and ceramic tiles were laid on these boards.

The tiles supplied by the well-known architectural ceramics brand AGROB BUCHTAL were specially produced for this project in the Buchtal factory at Schwarzenfeld. Before deciding in favour of this cladding material, the architect Mareike Beumer from the office L3P even had inspected historic tile facades at Hamburg. Of the numerous advantages of the proven, versatile building material of ceramics, above all its sustainability, durability, aesthetics and absolute colour and light fastness were relevant to her.