Further Education Center Mont-Cenis

This building, part of the international Emscher Park showcase building project, was developed in partnership with French architects Hélène Jourda and Gilles Perraudin and constructed on a 25-hectare former colliery site at Mont-Cenis near Herne. Planned as a centrepiece in the middle of an oval open space, the building is both a public space housing urban development and a milestone on the way to the energy patterns of the future.

The building has two components – the outer shell is a climate shell with façade elements consisting of single glazing and photovoltaic modules. The varying density of these modules enables the light and shade in the interior space to be specifically controlled without additional intervention. Within the shell a climate is created that is comparable to the Mediterranean region.

The houses inside can be built more or less as interior rooms, as they do not need to provide wind or weather resistance. Less floor area is needed inside the buildings, as the circulation areas are located in the planted interior-exterior space of the glass shell. The image is characterised by the use of natural materials. The loadbearing structure of the outer shell is of timber, as are the structural elements and cladding of the interior houses. The building has 9,180 m² façade-integrated solar modules and a total output of 1 MWp.