On the ruins of history
However, it is not always possible to preserve all buildings. In the case of demolition, there is the question of how to recycle the remaining materials. Large-panel buildings, which are being dismantled on a fairly large scale in Germany, can be a valuable resource for new construction. Prefabricated elements can be assembled as easily as they can be dismantled, so their structural and use value is preserved. The German zukunfstgereausche office, among others, is experimenting with the reuse of whole building fragments.
Tempelhofer Feld Plattenvereinigung
One of the fruits of the research is the Plattenvereinigung project, whose main goal was to educate for sustainability and make the ideas of sustainable thinking and action in the context of resource conservation and understanding history tangible. In addition, the authors included a significant social message. Using large-panel building elements from different building systems of East and West Germany, they developed technologies for combining different modules, designed in completely different circumstances. In this way, using elements of building culture from East and West and trends in urban revitalization today, they created a tangible example of one way to deal with future forms of communal living and the challenges of the future of ruins in a diverse and critical way.
PLV-TTF2011_Plattenvereinigung
© zukunftsgeraeusche GbR (zkg)
Another projecte, also firmly rooted in history, yet touching on the extremely contemporary issues of upcycling and cradle-to-cradle techniques, is the Bauhaus Re-Use pavilion erected adjacent to Berlin's Bauhaus Archives. The temporary reuse of the iconic Bauhaus building in Dessau consists of about 100 meters of facade elements that have been rebuilt for the experimental reuse project.
Bauhaus Re-Use pavilion
photo: Kacper Kepinski
The windows used in the pavilion were removed in 2011 in connection with the thermal rehabilitation of the buildings, their genesis dating back to 1976, when a comprehensive renovation of the building complex now a UNESCO World Heritage Site was carried out for the first time after World War II and at the same time on the 50th anniversary of its opening. Historic, though unoriginal, elements were used to construct a lightweight pavilion that operates with a completely contemporary style. Modernist windows were used to construct a double façade, a passive ventilation and shading system.
Bauhaus Re-Use - Berlin (2015)
Elements of the facade were mounted on a lightweight superstructure, braced with shipping containers, which form the inner core of the sanitary and storage rooms. The original elements are fully dismantlable and replaceable, meaning that all parts of the new building of about 174 m² can be reused in a resource-saving and sustainable way.
