The former Ewald colliery site in Herten is home to technology-oriented companies that are particularly involved in new energies. One of these companies is Cummins, which already had a branch in Gladbeck with Hyrogenics and has now relocated it to Herten. The new building offers around 4,300 m2 of floor space for production, research and offices.

Thieken Architekten und Ingenieure from Dorsten was responsible for planning the two-aisled hall construction with its transparent, light-flooded main façade. The project construction specialist Brüninghoff was commissioned with the realization of the refined shell - consisting of foundation, construction, façade and interior fittings without TGA. The nine-metre high, 80-metre wide and 44-metre deep building was constructed as a steel skeleton structure and consists of two areas - an office wing and a single-storey hall. The latter has two bays, each with a span of 22 meters. It houses crane runway systems, slewing cranes and a solid concrete construction in the explosion-proof test area. The office wing with flexible lightweight walls has two storeys. This part was designed as a steel structure with a reinforced concrete floor slab. A large glass front in the form of a post-and-beam construction provides the offices with plenty of natural light. In addition to the fixed glazing, individual elements are available that can be opened as required. Integrated external venetian blinds also provide glare protection. Large ribbon windows provide plenty of daylight in the hall. The rest of the building envelope is made up of anthracite-colored sandwich elements.

The entrance to the building is visually and architecturally emphasized. It is offset to the front and accentuated with a red frame that matches the company's corporate design. The roof, which was designed as a foil roof, consists of 1.8 millimeter plastic sheets that are bonded together and mechanically attached to the trapezoidal sheet metal roof surface. Rainwater is drained away via a vacuum drainage system. Due to the size of the building and its use, a comprehensive fire protection concept was necessary. In addition to fire alarm technology and smoke and heat extractors, a sprinkler system was planned and installed as an additional safety measure in the event of a fire. In addition, the building users required a solid, 48-metre-long and three-metre-high explosion protection wall in the area of the test rooms. The construction time of just ten months was achieved thanks to BIM-based 3D models, a high degree of prefabrication and good communication between the trades. 

www.brueninghoff.de

Photos: 

André Chrost PhotoDesign
ac-photodesign.de

(Published in CUBE Ruhr Area 01|23)