From Bunker to Bubble
Project
- IGMet Akademie
Theme
- Collective Spaces
Size
- 18,060 m²
Lead
- Valerie Kerz
Team
- Lukas Utzig
- Seyedehkosar Asghari
- Ebru Dinc
- Giada Mirizzi
- Harry Hinton-Hard
- Amir Fallahi
Location
- Berlin, Germany
Typology
- Educational Space
- Workplace
Status
- Competition entry
Collaborators
- Structure: Teuffel Consultants
- Ingenieursgesellschaft mbH
- Fire: brandplus GmbH
- Climate Engineering: ee-concept GmbH
Images
- LAVA
Year
- 2022
Client
- IGEMET GmbH
Partner
- Tobias Wallisser
Project
- IGMet Akademie
Location
- Berlin, Germany
Year
- 2022
Typology
- Educational Space
- Workplace
Theme
- Collective Spaces
Client
- IGEMET GmbH
Size
- 18,060 m²
Status
- Competition entry
Lead
- Valerie Kerz
Team
- Lukas Utzig
- Seyedehkosar Asghari
- Ebru Dinc
- Giada Mirizzi
- Harry Hinton-Hard
- Amir Fallahi
Collaborators
- Structure: Teuffel Consultants
- Ingenieursgesellschaft mbH
- Fire: brandplus GmbH
- Climate Engineering: ee-concept GmbH
Partner
- Tobias Wallisser
What conditions are ideal for learning? Are they found on a small screen, within the confines of a concrete bunker, or in an inspiring, daylight-infused retreat surrounded by lush greenery? This encapsulates how architecture and design, as demonstrated by the redevelopment and expansion of the IG Metall Educational Center and Seminar Hotel in Berlin, can reshape learning encounters in the post-pandemic era—by embracing the mind-expanding potential of social connections and the distinct characteristics of nature and atmosphere.
A NEW ERA OF LEARNING EXPERIENCE
During the pandemic, online training and learning dramatically accelerated, facilitating faster communication, defying distances, and enhancing accessibility. Yet, despite these advantages, the irreplaceable social interactions and sense of escapism offered by physical learning environments were all but lost. Acknowledging this, LAVA contemplated the evolving role of educational spaces in the post-pandemic era, aiming to deliver meaningful, memorable, and connective learning experiences.
Tackling this was at the heart of LAVA’s competition design for the German Union of Metalworkers’ (IG Metall) educational training center with facilities for overnight stays, located outside Berlin in Wannsee, a rural forest setting overlooking a lake. Unfortunately, the existing 1980s concrete bunker with four extruded wings trapped visitors in a bottleneck, and its small windows blocked out nature. It was anything but conducive to learning, prompting LAVA Partner Tobias Wallisser to wonder: “What is the value of maintaining a training center in the post-pandemic era unless it can maximize vibrant social interaction and leverage the natural qualities of its surroundings?”
“We inquired into how architecture and design can maximize vibrant social interaction and leverage the natural qualities of surroundings to meet modern learning space demands.”
AN ENVIRONMENTALLY- CONSCIOUS RETROFIT
While the competition called for total demolition and a new build, a rigorous analysis of the embedded carbon of the concrete structure proved the environmental benefits of extensive restructuring and expansion. A series of ‘surgical interventions’ included dividing the building into two wings and the addition of two flexible timber hybrid constructions. By blending old and new, the bunker is transformed into an open framework beneath one dynamic roof, all while significantly enhancing energy efficiency and reducing embodied carbon emissions by 1500 tons—equivalent to 50 percent less than a new build.
The metamorphosis from dim bunker to beguiling daylight-filled academy evolved significantly by replacing the heavy concrete façades of the two original wings with a layered geometry of glazing, timber structure, and metal louvers, combining functions of PV panels, privacy, and shading—the latter assisted by the dense surrounding forest, which had developed significantly over time offering up the new opportunity for abundant glazing. Insulated and made more compact for improved energy efficiency, the wings and their façade, which rise into a distinctive roof seamlessly ensconcing all building components, contribute to a new luminous architectural identity–one more apt for a progressive organization investing in employee education.
“We rigorously analyzed the existing concrete structure’s carbon footprint, opting for retrofitting over new build and integrated energy-efficient components for improved comfort and efficiency.”
“A wide atrium centralizes the plan and encourages social connectivity, complemented by an intelligent façade that offers daylight, privacy, cooling, and energy generation.”
COMMUNITY BUILDING
When confined to screens, it’s more likely that miscommunication and ‘siloed’ learning will occur. Yet social encounters in the classroom–or, perhaps more importantly, serendipitously in the corridors–can combat this. That’s why the wings were connected with a central atrium, a wide and open stairway intersecting all circulation to encourage productive collisions and encompassing a solar chimney for energy generation. This vertical foyer provides a memorable sense of arrival and a performative pivotal meeting place, filling a previously evident void—and tested in LAVA’s design for the Youth Hostel in Bayreuth, where a central atrium forges social connections for its Y-shaped plan.
“We've chosen retrofitting over new construction as a more environmentally-conscious solution, enhancing adaptability, functionality, and sustainability in building practices.”
The architecture and interiors of post-pandemic work and education spaces have been distinctively shifting towards the comfort and amenities of hospitality spaces as a means to rebuild community, motivation, and well-being. Correspondingly, “our design elevates IG Metall into an enticing, holistic environment where new wayfinding leads to a more logical and varied flow of flexible seminar and conference rooms, a multifunctional hall for events, a bar, lounge, and canteen terrace to relax, wellness and fitness areas to rejuvenate.”
By shifting car-parking underground, the atmosphere of an escapist retreat in the forest truly permeates. Participants stroll from sun-drenched corridors, meditate on lake views, and dine on the canteen terrace, soaking up the calming effects of nature. “Many 20th-century buildings were not attuned to the power of nature,” concedes Wallisser, “yet our redesign imagines architecture as part of the landscape itself, fully intuitive and essential to the human experience.”
