Original name
HfG Hochschule für gestaltung Ulm [Ulm School of Design]
Original use
Education/Centre for higher education
Current use
Culture/leisure/tourism/museum - archive
Architects
Max Bill
Concrete by reinforcement
Concrete is a relatively brittle material that is strong in compression but less so in tension.
To increase its overall strength, steel rods, wires, mesh or cables may be embedded in concrete before it sets. This reinforcement, often known as rebar, resists tensile forces. By forming a strong bond, the two materials are able to resist a variety of applied forces, effectively acting as a single structural element .
Construction method
In this case, the concrete can be made by mixing the components directly on site, or it may be transported from a production plant in concrete-mixer trucks.
This method has the disadvantage of leaving the concrete exposed to the elements while it is setting. Whereas, with other methods, the environmental conditions can be controlled during setting, providing greater control over the outcome, with cast-in-place concrete a series of tests and protocols are necessary to verify its final strength.
In its design, the element should account for aspects such as modulation, finishes, transportation, anchoring, installation on site, junctions between panels, the creation of openings and the relationship between the panels and joinery. The element may also be given characteristics that can improve the thermal insulation of the façade, for example. In that sense, they are often part of an industrialized system that offers a variety of responses to different construction situations and maximum versatility in terms of architectural solutions.
The aesthetic possibilities of concrete in prefabricated façade panel systems are endless in terms of size, shape, color, texture, hardness and a wide range of features.
Architectural concrete
- textured walls
- wooden formwork finish
- stamped concrete
- exposed aggregate concrete, colored concrete, etc.
Structural types
Beams are the horizontal load-bearing elements of the frame. Columns are the vertical elements of the frame and act as the building’s primary load-bearing element. They transmit the beam loads down to the foundations.
State of Conservation
Description
In the 1950s, a group of artists and designers led by Max Bill and Otl Aicher decided to found a school that would take over from the defunct Bauhaus and contribute to the reconstruction efforts in a nation devastated by war. Like the case of its predecessor, the curriculum was characterized by the desire to integrate the different artistic disciplines, the applied arts and design. In the Ulm school, however, the relationship between technology, science and design was emphasized.
Max Bill himself, who had been a student at the Bauhaus, designed the building for the school. It responds to a habitual university program, including student and teacher residences within the complex. Fragmented volumes allow the building to adapt to a steep slope, and they emphasize the division of functions into “work, sleep and community”, inspired by monastic architecture, which was also adopted by the Bauhaus. A linear passageway serves as a backbone and ties the complex together. Its geometry is sometimes subject to the logic of the buildings, crossing through their interiors. At other times it breaks away, moving outside; in these cases, the buildings adapt to the geometry of the passageway, which takes the form of a porch.
The complex is characterized by organizational, formal and constructive rationality, with concrete being the dominant material, both outside and inside. A simple and rational structure, based on pillars and visible concrete beams, achieves an optimal aesthetic result while lending unity to the whole; it is articulated with solid concrete walls and wooden joinery that follows an exact repetitive modulation.
Germany
Am Hochsträß 8
Baden-Württemberg (State), Tübingen (Admin. Region) 89081 Ulm
Commission
1953
Completion
1955