Around 14 months after the symbolic ground-breaking ceremony, the shell of the extension building at Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society (HWG) has been completed. The future main building of the campus on Ernst-Boehe-Straße will house all four Departments of the university in 2023.
The new three-storey building with basic dimensions of 124 by 45 meters will offer 14,000 square meters of space for the university library, a lecture hall with 150 seats, numerous seminar and event rooms, the dean's offices and the canteen with cafeteria. University facilities that were previously scattered around the city, such as the Departments of Social and Health Care, will be concentrated on the campus. The two existing university buildings will then be renovated.
"Together with the existing buildings and the new building now under construction, this HWG site will become a central science quarter. The state of Rhineland-Palatinate has provided 67 million euros for the overall project, with an additional 1.5 million euros already invested in the construction of a new daycare center. The new main building of the HWG is one of the state government's major construction projects at the university and college locations in Rhineland-Palatinate. Since 2010, we have invested a total of around 879 million euros in the expansion of our universities - partly with financial support from the federal government. We want to maintain this high level of investment in the future," said Finance and Construction Minister Doris Ahnen.
A striking design feature of the new building, which is managed by the Landesbetrieb Liegenschafts- und Baubetreuung (Landesbetrieb LBB), is the open passageway on the first floor. This "Passarelle" acts as a link between the two parts of the building, the library/lecture hall and the canteen, and provides a direct connection between the campus square and the future new university parking lot on Ludwig-Reichling-Straße. The new building will enable the expansion of the campus into a central science location in Ludwigshafen.
"We are building for the future here in Ludwigshafen. In view of the current coronavirus pandemic and the largely digital nature of education, this is becoming even more apparent. The new building strengthens our hope that we will regain the familiar student life. The campus feeling in Ludwigshafen should then grow with this building. The university is moving closer together and offering space for all Departments, administration, library and IT," said Science Minister Prof. Dr. Konrad Wolf. "The University in Ludwigshafen already has its strengths in the great interdisciplinarity and interlinking of subjects and Departments. The spatial proximity will further enhance this!"
The upper floors form a continuous façade on the outside. In contrast to the floor-to-ceiling windows on the first floor, the smaller windows here reflect the interior office structure. The upper floors are grouped around three spacious atriums, so that the interior rooms also receive daylight. Sustainable materials are used in the fit-out and interior design. Mineral plaster and solvent-free wall paints are used. Carpets and rubber flooring are free from plasticizers and do not emit any fumes.
"When you walk through this large new building on our campus, you can already feel how much future viability there is in this project for our university and for Ludwigshafen as a university location, even if it will still take some time to complete," commented University President Prof. Dr. Peter Mudra on the progress made so far. "My sincere thanks go to everyone who has supported and is implementing this project."
The thermal insulation of the new building exceeds the requirements of the Energy Saving Ordinance (EnEV) by 15 percent. This is made possible by the effective insulation of the façades, roof and floor slab as well as triple-glazed windows with a favorable thermal transmittance value of 0.9 W/m2K. The power supply is supported to the greatest possible extent by a photovoltaic system on the flat roof with an output of around 50 kWp (kilowatts at peak times). LED lighting is planned throughout the building. The heating for all three campus buildings will in future come from a district heating network. Heating units with usage-dependent control ensure efficient heat consumption in the rooms.
Jutta Steinruck, Mayor of the City of Ludwigshafen, explains: "The extension will create a future. The future lies in the students and lecturers who will 'move in' here and fill the campus with life. Universities are an important location factor in connection with the strategic future development of cities. Student life, innovation and creativity shape and enrich urban society and the climate in cities. The new building and the associated redesign of the site will create a central science quarter and a shared campus, and the university facilities that were previously scattered around the city will largely be brought together in one place. However, I am also pleased that the currently used vacant space in the city center, the 'Creative Space' of the 'Social Innovation Lab', will continue to be used by student projects - because that also shapes our urban society."
An additional 2,900 square meters of green space will be created on the campus area, increasing the total size of the green spaces to 5,200 square meters. Around 150 trees and 100 tall-growing shrubs will be planted. On the central campus square, trees will be planted to create a grove that will serve as a place of communication and retreat. Parking spaces and outdoor areas will be planted with ground cover, small shrubs and grass.
Holger Basten, Managing Director of Landesbetrieb LBB, says: "Despite the current restrictions, including in the planning and construction industry, the shell construction work has gone very well over the past 14 months. The other central trades such as sealing the roof, window and façade work as well as heating and plumbing were commissioned on time and are now being carried out quickly."
In future, the university will have around 400 parking spaces available, 249 of which will be in the new parking lot on Ludwig-Reichling-Straße and 13 new parking spaces on Ernst-Boehe-Straße. The existing parking lot at the existing buildings will be expanded by 20 parking spaces.
Additional information: Landesbetrieb LBB
We are the construction and real estate experts for the state of Rhineland-Palatinate: Landesbetrieb Liegenschafts- und Baubetreuung (Landesbetrieb LBB) manages and optimizes a real estate portfolio of around 1,650 buildings with an asset value of 2.25 billion euros, which comprises the majority of the state's real estate. Around 1,350 employees carry out construction and renovation projects for the state, the federal government, NATO, the host forces stationed in Germany and third parties. With eight branches and the head office in Mainz, we are present throughout the country. We build and maintain office buildings for the state, such as ministries and tax offices, as well as special properties for universities, the police, the judiciary and state forests, including state schools and museums, and take care of the preservation of castles, palaces and ancient monuments. For the federal government, we manage projects at Bundeswehr barracks, at the bases of the NATO and US guest forces and for the accommodation of US soldier families.
Contact:
LANDESBETRIEB LIEGENSCHAFTS- UND BAUBETREUUNG (LBB)
Claudia Renner
Head of Communications
Phone 06131 20496-146
Email: RennerClaudia.Zentrale@ 8< SPAM protection, please remove >8 lbbnet.de
