Building's Function The Rwe Ag Hochhaus Building example essay topic

of RWEArcitectural Critique Architectural Critique of RWE AG Hochhaus Name and Date of Magazine Architectural Record, June 1997. Name and Location The RWE AG Hochhaus building in Essen, Germany. Name and Location of the Architect and Construction Contractor The architects, Ingenhoven, Overdiek, Kahle n & Partner, are from Dusseldorf. The contractor used was HOCHTIEF AG. Building's Function The RWE AG Hochhaus building is one in a series of environmentally friendly structures that Germany has been adding to it's cities.

In and surrounding RWE are offices, a cafeteria, meeting rooms, gardens, and dining rooms. Client / Architect Relationship The architectural company was chosen because they won a contest in urban design. Not only was thier design good for the environment, but it also would add life to the slow downtown life. Materials of RWE The main structure of the building was made with reinforced concrete. There are also many energy-saving materials that were used, such as curtain walls, double-glass facades, exterior and interior safety glazing, "fish-mouth' louvers, double walls, perforated aluminum blinds, exposed concrete slabs in the ceilings, and cold-water radiators. Climate and Site Conditions The weather conditions in Essen range from hot summer days, to very cold winters.

Many of the architectural components of this building also help with cooling and heating depending on the temperature outside. Moveable facade panels can be opened to let in fresh air on a nice day, and the ceilings' concrete slabs absorb and release heat. Because of these elements, RWE uses over 1/5 less energy then regular towers. Construction Methodology RWE was built specifically to help upgrade Essen and Germany as a whole, without compromising the energy efficient area and codes, or demolishing the local landscape. It was constructed in an already urban area of the city, so they had to build it without much room to move, to avoid ruining the surrounding buildings.

Exterior Appearance RWE, when seen from certain angles, is almost se metrical. If seen with the elevator shaft in the middle, either in the front or the back, the entire building could be split perfectly down the center, creating two equal halves. The lower half of the structure, for the first 15 or so floors, there is absolutly no huge variation, besides the elevator. It is just a cylinder made up of small vertical rectangles, all in the same, repeated, uniform rows. The top half of RWE, except for the very top floor and roof, is the same as the bottom portion; little rectangles repeated over and over. Just over halfway up the building is a space just taller then two floors, where the continuity is broken by larger, solid looking rectangles, some with ventilation holes, others plain.

The mostly glass-walled building is quite transparent, yet at the same tim, at the right angles, it reflects the outside weather, be it cloudy or a vibrant sunset. Other then a hard metallic grey, the only color it has derives from those reflections on the outside. A Similar Building RWE reminds me of a building I used to live near in Bethesda. It, too, had an exterior entirely of glass, although brown rather then clear, and it often reflected the sky on its sides. However, this building was very square, not circular, and I doubt that it had the same energy-saving materials in it that RWE does.

Bibliography

Architectural Record, June, 1997.