FEATURED PROJECT
Diamonds for the Best Climate
Anybody who sets out to explore a museum will need far more than just a few minutes to take a close look at all the interesting exhibits there – it takes time to enjoying inspecting everything without feeling that you’re being rushed. In the new building for the Science Center Experimenta in Heilbronn we are talking not only about just looking at what is on offer but also about interacting with it – with a multifaceted world to discover and find out about on offer throughout the exhibition area. For Sauerbruch Hutton Architekten, client Drees & Sommer and building owner Dieter Schwarz Foundation the whole project centered around the well-being of the visitors. Accordingly, TTC Timmler Technology’s silent gravity cooling system “Gravient” was part of the sustainable energy concept for Experimenta. In the exhibition rooms, a large number of different factors – from the media technology to the exhibitions and even the visitors themselves – all contribute to creating a need for cooling and ventilation. TTC Timmler Technology’s powerful cooling system copes with this task effortlessly. The gravity cooling system is energy-efficient, durable and quiet, making it a reliable contributor to a perfect atmosphere inside Experimenta. Using groundwater as a cooling agent in combination with a heat pump saves a good 200 metric tons of CO2 per annum. The temperature is distributed evenly, allowing for a pleasant and constant ambient temperature of 26°.
However, you need to look very carefully in order to find this cooling technology because it is perfectly integrated into the architecture, meaning that only the floor-level air vents are visible. Frameless and filigree, they can be integrated into the wall design. And thanks to the intelligent way they are linked to the lighting system, the high-performance units on the ceiling are difficult to make out. The system cannot be seen or heard and even the permanent exchange of air does not make itself felt. Moreover, if so required, the entire system can be dismantled easily.
The warm air from the room flows through the high-performance type AASI.51 cooling units mounted on the ceiling, the cooled air passes through the down-shaft and then back into the room. Furthermore, all the electric and data cables required are hidden away behind the air vents, but this also means they are very easily accessible at all times. With their 2.5-mm grid, the KSM-V grilles by TTC Timmler Technology that cover the air vents make for an attractive appearance and are easy to open. In order to make sure that this ecologically exemplary building concept was ideal in all respects TTC Timmler Technology developed the location-specific solution in close collaboration with the architects and planning experts. Consequently, this natural climate control system not only goes easy on resources, it also saves costs in the long run. Its innovative building air conditioning system was an important factor in Experimenta Heilbronn receiving the “DGNB Diamond” award from DGNB, the German Sustainable Building Council, for the outstanding quality of its new building’s design and construction. This was the first time that a museum was honored with DGNB’s highest certification. As well as providing the gravity cooling system with its filigree air vents TTC Timmler Technology equipped Experimenta with a smoke extractor for the stairwell and stainless-steel guttering. The guttering derives its zigzag shape in the fountain area from the building’s unusual architecture, with Sauerbruch Hutten Architekten making an architectural statement on the banks of the River Neckar – with each story a block shaped like an irregular pentagon and rotated on the core shaft as well as a façade divided up into triangles. In the sustainable concept for the project TTC Timmer Technology’s innovative solutions ideally complement the overall experience at Experimenta.
