Object+Product: Daycare Centre in Bad Aibling
- Heide Wessely
Eric Carle's famous children's classic, "The Very Hungry Caterpillar," served as inspiration for the design concept of the "Sternenbrücke" (Star Bridge) daycare centre in Bad Aibling. The building, constructed using solid wood, was designed and built by the architectural firm Claudia Petzenhammer, also based in Bad Aibling. A very special project is taking shape on a roughly 70-hectare site near Bad Aibling: an autonomous "zero-energy city" that aims to combine living, working, and leisure. The park-like area, dubbed "City of Wood," incorporates existing buildings from the Nazi era and the US military, as well as several new constructions. Following the master plan of the owner, B&O, former residential buildings, sports halls, a church, a cinema, a hotel, a bowling alley, a kindergarten, a school and clinic complex, workshops, warehouses, and office buildings have already been partially repurposed. In addition, new, exemplary wooden buildings have been constructed, including Germany's tallest residential building with eight stories. The total living and usable area amounts to approximately 72,000 m², spread across 52 buildings. The newest project on the site is an inclusive daycare centre offering space for 12 children aged one to three years.
