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.

PDF Download

Building Typology: Culture | Retail | Office
Location: Herne
Country: Germany
Planning / Construction Period: 06/1997 - 08/1999
Order type: New Building
Client: EMC GmbH, Land NRW, City of Herne, IBA Emscher Park GmbH, Stadtwerke Herne AG
Project Participants:
  • Structural engineer: ARUP, London; Schlaich, Bergemann+Partner, Stuttgart
  • HVAC: ARUP, London; HL Technik AG, Frankfurt am Main
  • Landscape architecture: Desvigne & Dalnoky, Frankreich, Versailles; Latz, Riehl und Schulz, Kassel
Scope of Services:
  • Architecture
  • Urban Design
  • Gross Floor Area: 12100 m²
    Awards: International LIGNA plus Award 2001 "HolzBauArchitektur"
    North Rhine-Westphalia Timber construction prize 1999
    European Solar Prize 1999
    German “Photovoltaics in Buildings” competition 1996

    Similar projects