RECKLI news. The Gutenberghöfe in Heidelberg

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1 RECKLI news newsedition The Gutenberghöfe in Heidelberg

2 Reminiscence cast in concrete The Gutenberghöfe in Heidelberg The area on which the company Heidelberger Druck ma - schinen AG once built high-precision machines for printing and from where they managed the global group, counts almost m². However, by now 300 citizens of Heidelberg live on the bigger part of m². With the acquisition of the estate in 2005, the project development of the company HOCHTIEF in cooperation with the city of Heidelberg effected a change of use, creating a residential area. The architect s office ap88, located in Heidelberg, won the competition announced in this context. Façade House A-C / North sight

3 news The architect s office conceived a complex of buildings with 13 houses and about 170 individual units. These buildings were supposed to form a sort of border around a closed inner courtyard which itself should be structured in several smaller atriums by the arrangement of four further single buildings. Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor of modern book printing using movable type printing and the printing press, and the company Heidelberger Druck ma - schinen AG, the former owner of the area, are historically intrinsically tied to each other. Thus, it is quite obvious to remind this historical important combination, creating a lasting memory and an identification with the new accommodation for the residents. Detail Façade House C

4 Each of the 13 houses is named after a well-known typeface. Thus, the buildings now bear names like Helvetica, Nimbus or Avenir. Original master illustration Apart from this, there is another direct optical indication on two street-façades of the residence. The portrait of Gutenberg is shown as a 6,72 x 5,06 m relief on the exposed concrete panels of the façade. The architect s office originally conceived a portrait made of a unique big plate. However, due to reasons related to transport, this idea was replaced by creating a relief realized on three or four exposed concrete panels, depending on the side of street. Draft for the Photo-Engraved formliner The technical conversion of Gutenberg s portrait was realized by the help of the Photo-Engraving Technology of the company RECKLI. This technique, being on the market for many years and already used in numerous objects, is a computerbased method for transferring image data onto sheet materials by means of milling technology. For this, first of all an image template is scanned and converted in 256 grey scales. Each grey scale is defined by a cutting width and a cutting depth. In order to transfer the image onto the sheet material, a machining file is generated from the identified grey values, whereby the file includes milling commands for a special CNC milling machine. The milled model is then used as a master for casting the elastic RECKLI -Formliner. Depending on the resolution, this formliner creates a smooth or raw relief-like structure of surface on the concrete. By the movement of the sun creating light and shadow, the photo seems to be projected on the concrete façade. Concrete element In order to combine the portrait harmonically with the façade, all the other facing tiles used in the ground floor have been equipped with the same structure of V-shaped grooves, which forms the basic structure of the Photo-Engraving Technique.

5 news In this way, an esthetically appealing façade has been developed, on which the portrait of Gutenberg does not directly stand out as a solitaire picture. The elements of exposed concrete were built by Zuber Beton - werke in Crailsheim, a company looking back on a history of 50 years and having specialized in the fabrication of high quality elements of facing concrete. The company also delivers special parts needing a high precision in concrete formwork and treatment of concrete. This knowledge was extremely useful in the realization of the Gutenberghöfe. The staff of Zuber Betonwerke cast and assembled the portrait panels with highest precision. Apart from this, IfT, a sister company of Zuber Betonwerke, was responsible for the planning of the bearing structure and thus calculated the whole static of the façade. The result is a very successful example of exposed concrete.

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8 Object: Gutenberghöfe, Heidelberg Constructor: HOCHTIEF Projektentwicklung GmbH Architect: ap88 Architektenpartnerschaft Bellm-Löffel-Lubs-Trager, Heidelberg RECKLI-Formliner: Photo-Engraving Technique Facing concrete elements: Zuber Betonwerke, Crailsheim RECKLI GmbH Eschstrasse Herne Germany Tel Fax