CarlsCube

A new landmark for the eastern part of Karlsruhe

Since the middle of the year, the booming eastern part of Karlsruhe has been enriched by a new landmark: the CarlsCube. The future-oriented office building on the wholesale market site offers up to 600 workstations on around 9,000 square meters and scores points not only for the great flexibility of its floor plans but also for the high quality of its digital infrastructure. The client is Dreßler Bauträger GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of the general contractor Dreßler Bau GmbH. The long-established family company based in Aschaffenburg covered the entire construction value chain for this project: from project development to turnkey construction and architectural concrete façades to letting.

Photo @flash.iFFect

Attractive location
With its dense network of universities and research institutes, Karlsruhe is one of the most innovative locations in Germany.locations in Germany. The city is on course for growth. The main drivers of the positive economic development are innovative and knowledge-intensive companies. Good arguments for Dreßler Bau’s investment in the fan-shaped city. The Rastatt branch of the company was responsible for the construction work, which, with its 45-strong workforce, has been based in the CarlsCube has. “Karlsruhe is an attractive location for our development as well as for our employees,” explains branch manager Martin Scheibner. “We maintain close relationships with KIT and Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences. Two thirds of our youngengineers are graduates of these renowned institutes. We want to build the future at our new location.” The CarlsCube shows what this means at Dreßler Bau.

Efficient construction thanks to digitalization
Dreßler Bau has been focusing on digitalization for years and is driving this topic forward ambitiously. The CarlsCube is the first office building of three projects to date that the company has planned completely in 3D with its planning partners, from the architecture to the building services. Using a BIM model, particularly challenging intersections and collision points were identified during the planning phase and taken into account accordingly.

One specially designed for the KarlsThe VR software developed by the ruher team enables the almost fully automatic transfer of BIM models created using 3D planning programs into a visually highly realistic, interactive world. Future projects can be realized in a VR lab even before construction begins. be inspected, discussed and sampled with the clients. A further step towards more time and cost-efficient construction.

Flexible floor plans, high-quality fittings
The CarlsCube was designed by archis Architekten from Karlsruhe. The seven-storey building follows an H-structure with a central access unit and four quadrants. The architecture supports a flexible division of the rental fields. Large, floor-to-ceiling windows, green terraces and balconies as well as high-quality materials – mainly exposed concrete, metal and wood – create a pleasant atmosphere and emphasize the modern architecture. An underground parking garage and outdoor parking spaces, some of which are equipped with electric charging stations, as well as over 60 bicycle parking spaces offer employees and visitors environmentally friendly convenience.

The architectural highlight
The architectural highlight is the façade made of architectural concrete, which accentuates the prestigious character of the property. The concrete elements were produced in the Stockstadt branch of Elemente & Industriebau which produces custom-made structural components and architectural concrete elements. The concrete mixtures developed in the in-house laboratory, the “liquid stone”, allow for a wide variety of colors and textures. Finishing the surfaces creates individual building elements with expressive aesthetics, which have been installed in the Neues Museum and the Humboldtforum in Berlin, among others. However, the architectural concrete façade is not just the visual eye-catcher of the CarlsCube. The precisely fitting openings from the factory enabled the wood-aluminum window elements to be installed in one go, so that the shell was sealed at an early stage. In addition, the use of prefabricated components significantly shortens the construction time – if you master the demanding interplay of good planning and quality craftsmanship. In total, it took just under two years from the ground-breaking ceremony to completion – despite the restrictions imposed by the coronavirus pandemic. “We had to plan far longer in advance than usual, often finding alternatives or emergency solutions. This permanent management of uninfluenceable external factors was a considerable challenge for our construction site team,” explains Martin Scheibner. Even if the budget framework could not be fully adhered to due to inflation and construction price increases, according to Scheibner, the company got off lightly thanks to the timely awarding of contracts and orders. “Thanks to technical and economic optimization as well as interdisciplinary, integrated planning with the help of 3D models, we were able to make the project a success despite all the adversities.”

Photo @flash.iFFect

Photo @flash.iFFect

Photo @OO Baukunst

Outstanding digital infrastructure and environmentally friendly building technology
A key criterion for renting office space is an optimal digital infrastructure in addition to the flexible layout of the rental space. Criteria such as reliability and future-proofing are particularly important for technology-related industries. The CarlsCube is the first building in Karlsruhe with a WiredScore Gold certificate and meets the high standards of the international rating system for connectivity. The heating energy is supplied by the latest generation of “clean” district heating. It comes from industrial process waste heat and waste heat from electricity generation in combined heat and power plants and meets all the requirements of the EEWärmeG, EWärmeG and EnEV. A heat recovery system prevents energy losses. External electric sun shading supports the modern cooling technology with individual room-by-room control for air conditioning the offices in summer.

Optimal working atmosphere
An innovative “climate floor” conducts the heating and cooling energy as well as fresh air into the offices. The multi-floor developed by ClimaLevel Energiesysteme GmbH combines heating, cooling and ventilation in a single system. The combination of conventional underfloor heating and airflow makes this solution as responsive as it is energy-efficient. In addition, the sophisticated ventilation technology ensures a constantly optimal room climate, which prevents the unpleasant side effects of classic air conditioning systems such as draughts or “cold lakes” on the floor. A comfort that users appreciate, because a pleasant indoor climate is a key factor for well-being and performance. The multi-floor also offers a further advantage: the entire TGA can be “banished” to the floor thanks to the integrated level for underfloor cabling.

“We used the ClimaLevel Multiboden for the first time in the CarlsCube. We are more than delighted with both the smooth cooperation with ClimaLevel Energiesysteme GmbH and the performance of the system as a user,” says Martin Scheibner. “The almost 40 ºC outside temperature this summer was a tough test, and it passed with flying colors.” The ClimaLevel Multiboden is already planned for the new office project at the Karlsruhe branch.

A successful project
Attractive architecture, high-quality fittings, intelligent rental space planning and an optimal digital infrastructure make the CarlsCube a successful project: all office units were already let six months before completion.