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Entwurf • Design Studio Sozia Calavetta Häberle Architekten PartGmbB, Karlsruhe
Bauherr • Client privat
Standort • Location An der Alten Weberei 6, 79206 Breisach am Rhein
Nutzfläche • Floor space 835 m 2
Fotos • Photos Kim Fohmann, München
Mehr Infos auf Seite • More infos on page 134

W hereas architecture is often built “for eternity” (and then torn down again after a few years),
the lifespan of interior-design projects is often even shorter: new usage requirements, tech-
nical modernization and changing design demands have resulted in short-lived spaces in the areas
of retail/trade fairs, public buildings, hospitality and, above all, in modern working environments,
which can react more or less flexibly to new needs and requirements and (have to) be redesigned
accordingly. The topic of New Work in particular requires constant adaptation of spaces in order
to fulfil the demands for collaboration, communication, contemplation and concentration in their Studio Sozia fragt: Wie bleibt ein Gebäude lange nutzbar? • How can a building remain usable?
entirety – which can have considerable consequences for the environment in terms of sustainability.
When it comes to planning and designing regenerative office spaces, we are often faced with the
far-reaching question: How can ecological, economic, social and, above all, aesthetic components Der Innenraum ist als veredelter Rohbau ausgeführt. • The interior is designed as a refined shell.
be combined in a single design? A glance at the Internet reveals countless “valuable tips” on how to
make the office mroe sustainable. These range from travelling to work and introducing green tech-
nologies to buying environmentally friendly office materials to sensible waste separation. However,
sustainability starts much earlier than the conscious use of electricity, water and paper: with the
forward-looking planning of infrastructure. The most important factor here is the involvement of
employees: The more they identify with the location, the less likely it is that it will have to be reor-
ganized at short notice and the longer it will last. However, sustainability in the office does not only
mean focussing on environmentally conscious solutions when it comes to furnishings. In addition to
low energy- and water consumption, improved air quality (including plants), more pleasant acou-
stics with minimized reverberation times and ventilation- and lighting measures that focus more on
naturalness and increase the quality of stay are equally relevant – and ideally an intelligent after-life
concept that not only includes materials and products, but also the entire interior/architecture. The
young Karlsruhe office Studio Sozia has consistently integrated the latter into the planning process
with its first work Tina and created a flexible building in Breisach am Rhein that can be used as
an office and/or residential building as required. With their design, the architects responded to
the fact that, due to the sharp rise in land prices in the greater Freiburg area, multi-family house
plots are up to 85 per cent more expensive than commercial plots, which prompted a client and Die Tragstruktur erlaubt maximale Nutzungsflexibilität. • The structure allows flexibility.
the team led by Valerio Calavetta and Lisa Häberle to rethink their approach and design an office
building in a commercial area that can be converted into a variable number of flats in future with
just a few interventions at extension level. In addition to choosing bio-based, renewable raw mate-
rials, low-emission and low-pollutant building materials, regional resources or natural, untreated
mono-materials that can be fed into the cycle by type, reuse and cradle-to-cradle concepts play an
important role. Reviewing production processes and supply chains and thinking them through to
the end, using existing substances, preserving what is worth preserving, revitalizing and further
developing old or used items and considering the entire life cycle of materials, products and spaces
helps to further reduce the impact on the climate. Convertible and flexible spaces with reversible
constructions or sharing models and human-centred interior/architecture also promote resilient
construction. Sustainability is therefore based on intelligent and far-sighted concepts that require a
rethink in planning and challenge the creativity of each individual, but create individual yet durab-
le (office) spaces that will have a positive impact on life in the future. Certainly, design quality must
be re-evaluated under this premise. An ecologically sensible selection of materials, products and
space-creating measures will increasingly determine the look of our rooms and thus have a lasting
impact on our aesthetic perception. This is because we will increasingly draw on what is already Plusenergiehaus, vom Büro- zum Wohngebäude umbaubar • PlusEnergy house
there and integrate untreated surfaces and easily dismantled structures into the design. We will
accept the incomplete or imperfect and, above all, understand working environments as a “work in
progress” in spatial terms. Aesthetics change when they are recycled! If we break new ground and
critically scrutinize old approaches, the EU’s goal of halving greenhouse-gas emissions by 2030 and
establishing a fully circular economy or climate neutrality by 2050 can still be achieved. The goal
is clear, but we have to shape the path to achieving it ourselves. We could start by reducing energy
consumption: according to the information service of the German Economic Institute iwd, more
than 176,000 tonnes of CO (roughly equivalent to the annual carbon footprint of 21,800 German
2
citizens) and around 168 million euros could be saved in Germany per year if electricity consumpti-
on in all office buildings in the seven largest cities were reduced by 6.5 percent. Which leads to the
conclusion: Sustainability is no longer an option, but an urgent necessity ...