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Process: Fraunhofer Institute in Ilmenau

The message seems to be reaching more and more building clients that architecture can also play a signal role in research buildings. The aim is not just to provide scientists with ideal functional spaces where they can carry out their experiments smoothly, but also to present the particular institution in an appropriate and unmistakable form to the outside world. What’s more, structures of this kind should provide research people with an agreeable working environment, for in the competition to attract the best assistants, engaging factors of this kind certainly play a role.

Process: Fraunhofer Institute in Ilmenau
© Werner Huthmacher

With the Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology in Ilmenau, Thuringia, it has proved possible to create a prestige building appropriate to its function and to a relatively low budget. The compact, two-storey volume is distinguished by its elegant restraint. Situated on the campus of the university of technology, it accommodates itself to the scale of the existing development. At the same time, the translucent, shimmering facade, which changes in appearance with the incidence of light, lends the structure a refined quality. The pale coloration of the internal spaces, too, ensures an unobtrusive character. By laying out the building around four courtyards, it was possible to light the rooms naturally and to create a pleasant working atmosphere.

Architecture
Staab Architekten
Location
Ehrenbergstraße 31, 98693 Ilmenau (DE)

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Summary

Issue
09/2010 Research and Teaching
Author
-
Source
DETAIL
Location
Germany, Ilmenau
Year of construction
2008
Year of completion
2008
Architecture
Staab Architekten

Participants & manufacturers

Architecture
Staab Architekten

Categories

Magazine
Research and Teaching
Load bearing structure
Reinforced concrete

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