Roofing Ceremony Heralds Final Construction Phase of the Wangen Tower and Hybrid Flax Pavilion
In glorious spring weather, the Roofing Ceremony (Richtfest) for the two research buildings of the University of Stuttgart's Cluster of Excellence IntCDC was celebrated together with the partners involved in the project on the grounds of the State Garden Show Wangen 2024. The Richtfest is a traditional German ceremony performed by builders after the last element of the supporting structure is placed during its construction. The Mayor of Wangen, Michael Lang, hosted the event and thanked all project partners and participants and teams for the event and expressed his gratitude to all those involved in the project.
Hybrid Flax Pavilion
The construction of the innovative Hybrid Flax Pavilion was designed by researchers from the Cluster of Excellence IntCDC, based on the latest findings in digitalisation and lightweight construction research, and implemented in cooperation with local companies. For the roof structure, the timber construction company and joinery centre Sterk produced thin, highly efficient timber components from regionally sourced wood. These components were pre-assembled with the flax fibre components digitally wound by the company HA-CO in Wallerstein to form a resource-saving and load-efficient hybrid structure. Afterwards, Sterk transported the components to the construction site where the hybrid supporting structure of the roof was erected.
In addition to the pavilion itself, the carpenters and craftsmen took centre stage at the Richtfest. On the expressive, undulating roof of the pavilion, they recited their Richtfest speech next to the Richtfest tree and toasted the success of the project.
Wangen Tower
Under a bright blue sky, the wooden construction of the Wangen tower, which consists of curved CLT panels just 13 centimetres thick, presented itself to the guests in an impressive way. Thanks to a structurally favourable design based on the biomimetic principle of the natural shrinkage of wood, the curved components require very little material. The six prefabricated tower segments arrived on site at precisely timed intervals directly from the pre-assembly department. There, carpenters from the Gossau-based timber construction company Blumer Lehmann assembled the tower on site.
In a setting of breathtakingly beautiful views of the nearby Alps, two carpenters from Blumer Lehmann delivered the topping-out speech to the numerous partners and guests present at their feet from a lifting platform about halfway up the 22-metre-high tower.
Both buildings are the result of many years of research led by Prof. Achim Menges, Head of the Institute for Computational Design and Construction (ICD) and Prof. Jan Knippers, Head of the Institute of Building Structures and Structural Design (ITKE) as part of the Cluster of Excellence Integrative Computational Design and Construction for Architecture (IntCDC) at the University of Stuttgart.
In the spirit of two-way knowledge transfer between cutting-edge research and construction companies, the buildings will be realised in cooperation with companies based in the region.