Page 126 - AIT1221_E-Paper

BANKEN UND BEHÖRDEN • BANKS AND AUTHORITY BUILDINGS INNERE WERTE • INNER VALUES

Die Raumstrukturen im Erd- und Obergeschoss konnten ... • The spatial structures on the floors could ... Traditionelle Baustoffe: Kalkputz und mineralische Farben • Traditional building materials

... den neuen Büro- und Verwaltungsnutzungen angepasst werden. • ... be adapted to the new uses. Dem alten Anbau wich ein neuer Funktionsbau aus Beton. • A new functional concrete building

O ur villages are undergoing major changes, farms are being abandoned, the ance- viding suspender beam in the attic, and the new civic hall was accommodated under
stral population is dwindling, families from the suburbs are moving in. All this
the impressive roof truss. Lighting is provided by two light funnels that direct natural
causes the village centres to become deserted, inns to stand empty, stores and bakeries sunlight from the gable into the hall
to close due to lack of profitability or successors. Uniform single-family housing estates
with barely any communal spaces emerge on the village outskirts. How can we stop Orientation towards traditional building materials
this social and urban impoverishment? Our society cannot afford to demolish the enor-
mous stock of buildings and thus allow CO2 emissions and the amount of waste gene- Meetings and festivities can again be held here. The necessary circulation areas and
rated to grow out of control. Today, the most urgent task of architects is to renovate exi- ancillary rooms are accommodated in the newly built annex: a prestigious staircase,
sting buildings, to improve them in terms of energy consumption and, where necessary, an elevator for barrier-free access to all rooms, an escape staircase and the sanitary
to develop clever conversion concepts and extensions – as is the case with the conver- rooms. Since the administration decided upon a “paperless town hall”, the archive
sion of the old Gasthof Hirsch in Denklingen, a village in Munich’s catchment area, into space in the basement has been reduced to an absolute minimum. The materials used
a town hall with a civic hall. The old inn, a listed building, was built in 1668. In 1974, in the existing building are based on traditional building materials, such as lime plaster
a fire destroyed the roof truss and the gable walls. After reconstruction, the building and mineral paints. The original, load-bearing wooden ceiling beams could be preser-
served again as a village inn but was eventually abandoned and for sale since 2014. ved by a wood-concrete composite ceiling. White, sanded screed flooring in both the
The municipality of Denklingen purchased the house with the intention to turn it into old and the new building connects the two parts, creating a bright, welcoming atmo-
the new town hall. Two feasibility studies showed that a barrier-free town hall would sphere. In the offices, acoustic elements with a yellow wool covering ensure a comfor-
be possible if the existing annex was replaced by a functional extension with a staircase table working environment. For fire protection reasons, the annex is a concrete struc-
and elevator. The small-scale room layout on the first floor could be repurposed wit- ture with a light-coloured brick facing. The fair-faced concrete walls are enhanced both
hout major changes. The dance hall, installed upstairs in the 1970s, was divided by par- visually and haptically by reed mats inserted into the formwork. Currently, the square
tition walls to create an adequate office structure. These partitions each abut the exte- around the town hall is still being completed. The beautiful surroundings with fountain,
rior walls with a glass joint. As a result, the once expansive space is still perceptible. steps, tree and a reduced-traffic area now invite people to linger and will hopefully
The re-installed walls on the upper floor also made it possible to remove the space-di- soon attract citizens to once again occupy the public space with a variety of uses.

126 • AIT 12.2021