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Refurbishment of the ceramic façade of the Stadthalle Göttingen
Göttingen – The façade of the Stadthalle Göttingen has been made of ceramic tiles in various glazes and geometries for over 50 years. As part of the refurbishment, m&r Manufaktur GmbH was commissioned to produce new tiles and refurbish existing ones.
In contrast to the original design, the execution now provides for a ventilated rainscreen façade (VHF). As experts in three-dimensional architectural ceramics and glaze development, we supplied new glazes, a new geometry and professional processing for over 6,000 existing tiles.
The anchor of the East
The Stadthalle is a landmark in the east of Göttingen and has always provided a stage for regional and national events. It was designed by architect Rainer Schell († 2000) and opened in 1964. The striking façade made of multi-colored ceramic tiles has been in place ever since and has had a lasting impact on the cityscape. It was therefore not surprising that the design that paid the most respect to the existing appearance won the overdue refurbishment.
The design by architects soll sasse architekten BDA from Dortmund is based on the existing building, takes into account its character and preserves Rainer Schell’s original concept.
Sustainability on several levels
In order to preserve the striking ceramic façade as an object of identification, as many of the existing tiles as possible were to be retained. A new geometric relief was added to the design. Two new glaze colors were developed by m&r Manufaktur in close cooperation with the architects Inga Soll and Heiko Sasse, who were in charge of the project. Both the old façade tiles and the new stoneware objects are made of 100% natural material.
All dismantled tiles were professionally cleaned of smog, silicone, glue and graffiti after being transported to our Westerwald factory. The next step was to prepare the tiles for their new and ecologically efficient installation as VHF. To this end, the tiles were subjected to various tests in the fischerwerke GmbH & Co KG laboratory. After analysing the break-out behaviour, the provisions for reattachment were harmonized with those of the new tiles and implemented. In total, each tile – whether existing or new – is provided with four undercut holes.
As the existing tiles had previously been grouted and had light-colored edges after preparation, our team also carried out a visual treatment: All reused tiles are tinted at the edges with a special façade paint, as the joints are open when installed as VHF and the edges are therefore visible. Firstly, a light-colored flashing of the edges would have revealed a difference to the new tiles and secondly, it would have detracted from the overall appearance.
3,000 new three-dimensional tiles
A new geometric relief has been added to the refurbished existing tiles. Compared to other shaping methods, the traditional cast ceramic process used by m&r Manufaktur opens up a great deal of design freedom, allowing the architects’ design ideas to be implemented precisely.
The result is a façade that carries the idea of sustainability on several levels and that preserves the Stadthalle Göttingen as an object of identification, taking ecological aspects into account.
Photo: Eberhard Sasse, Schwerte
Info.
m&r Manufaktur
Kossmannstraße 27
66119 Saarbrücken
Fliesenmanufaktur
Pleurtuit-Str. 12–14
56235 Ransbach-Baumbach
Tel.: +49 2623 929 55–0
Fax: +49 2623 929 55–9