CarlsCube in Karlsruhe

Building the future digitally and environmentally friendly

The CarlsCube, a pioneering office building, is being built on the wholesale market site in Karlsruhe’s Oststadt district. The seven-storey property offers up to 600 workstations on almost 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 and general contractor is Dreßler Bau GmbH. The long-established family company based in Aschaffenburg covers 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. The more than 40,000 students are a huge talent pool. And 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 company’s Rastatt branch is responsible for the construction work, which will occupy one floor of the CarlsCube with its 45-strong workforce.

“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 young engineers are graduates of these renowned institutes. We want to build the future at our new location.”

The CarlsCube gives a foretaste of what is meant by this at Dreßler Bau. The seven-storey building, designed by archis Architekten from Karlsruhe, follows an H-structure with a central access unit and four quadrants. “The architecture supports a flexible division of the rental areas, with up to four units possible per standard floor. We have already taken this into account when planning the building services,” explains senior site manager Matthias Kästle. 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.

Photo @OO Baukunst

Photo @flash.iFFect

Photo @OO Baukunst

The architectural highlight
The façade made of architectural concrete accentuates the prestigious character of the property. The concrete elements were manufactured at Dreßler Bau’s Stockstadt precast plant, where 180 employees produce 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. By finishing the surfaces – they are sanded, sandblasted or acid-etched – individual building elements with expressive aesthetics are created, which have been installed in the Neues Museum and the Humboldtforum in Berlin, among others. The architectural concrete elements of the CarlsCube were treated with acid, so that their sand structure is shown to its best advantage. “The architectural concrete façade is not just the visual highlight of the CarlsCube. The use of prefabricated components significantly shortens the construction time. In addition, the precisely fitting window openings ex works allow the windows to be installed in one go, so that the building is sealed at an early stage. A milestone in the construction phase,” explains Matthias Kästle.

Outstanding digital infrastructure and environmentally friendly building technology
In order to provide future tenants with an optimal digital infrastructure, the office building will be Wired-Scored certified. The requirements of technology-savvy tenants in particular are taken into account specifically and proactively at the planning stage. 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.

Optimum working climate
An innovative “climate floor” conducts the heat and cooling energy as well as fresh air into the offices. The multi-floor developed by ClimaLevel 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. Future tenants will appreciate this comfort, as 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. “So far, we are on schedule, both in terms of construction time and costs,” says Martin Scheibner happily. The topping-out ceremony was celebrated at the end of July. The CarlsCube is scheduled for completion in June 2022.