Oberaltenallee, Hamburg

“Wrap it up warm and dress it up!” was the idea the architects had for the modernization and redesign of a balcony access area in the Oberaltenallee in Hamburg. The previously angular building structure now has a striking organic and flowing shape. A complex metamorphosis focusing on both energy-related and visual aspects – with an unmistakable expressive concept and ETICS custom products from Brillux. At first glance, onlookers may think that this residential building is just another new build in the Hanseatic city, the architecture is dominated by circles – and also uses a current motif that can already be found in recent designs like the two much-admired office buildings “Hamburger Welle” in Hohenfelde and “Berliner Bogen” in Hammerbrook. The formal association is correct, but the building at Oberaltenallee 72 is not a new build. Its contemporary and distinctive exterior design was achieved with a modernization that is sophisticated in both technology and design and that breaks new ground in many respects. Under the project name “metamorphosis”, KBNK developed the concept for the energy-related and visual modernization of the residential building. The balcony access was built in 1965 in the sharp-edged contours, protruding balconies and a dominant stairwell tower typical of the era. Now the building was to receive a distinctive, independent exterior and a new high quality of living on the interior with its 54 apartments. Both were achieved with impressive results. The high primary energy consumption was reduced by 80 percent. Key measures during this project were the conversion from heating oil to district heating, hydraulic balancing of the heating system, a ventilation system for controlled ventilation and deaeration with heat recovery, high-performance window glazing and, of course, the installation of an external insulating shell. The special feature: KBNK Architekten not only used the Brillux thermal insulating composite system for functional purposes, but also as a key design tool in the building metamorphosis. The expressive overall concept for the facade design with its soft flow is based largely on the new organic balcony prefabricated structures and the freshly mounted thermal insulating modules from Brillux that give the building its new contour. The “metamorphosis” concept lives from the creative approach of developing the sharp-edged building contours organically and uses the thermal insulation as a design tool. Standard insulation boards were therefore out of the question. For the Hamburg modernization concept, Brillux created a tailored solution: Technical consultants from Brillux first developed a laying plan which could be used as a basis for installing the curved ETICS modules without creating cross joints. Then the curves for five different curve types specified in the building plan were milled out of the boards to the exact measurements – so precisely that they only had to be mounted in a modular system at the building site on the around 2,500 square meters of exterior wall with no further cutting required. The special production was just one part of the intensive cooperation. The Brillux consultants planned every minute detail in advance with the client. Before starting the building work, everything was prepared so that the flowing new look of the building could be implemented just as smoothly. The client and planners therefore also placed great importance on reliable building site logistics services that Brillux guaranteed with reliable just-in-time delivery of the required ETICS curve types, coordinating this with the delivery of the other new elements, the balcony prefabricated structures. The top coat was also coated with Protect, a reliable film protection against algae and mold attack to keep the surface as presentable and expressive as it currently is for the long-term. The interplay between light render and glass surfaces, combined with the sweeping building contour, gives the 45 year old construction a high-quality, open and modern character, coupled with an optimal energy balance.