Quest Forum “Old Spinning Mill”, Kolbermoor
Quest Forum “Old Spinning Mill”, Kolbermoor
The client, the Werndl family, has appointed Quest Architekten to carry out comprehensive refurbishment work on the site of Kolbermoor’s former cotton spinning mill, now protected by a heritage order. Work started in 2006 and the aim is to create a high-quality urban mix of offices, housing, retailing, cultural amenities and open spaces.
A structure of tent-like roofs and open nets seems to “weave” together the buildings of this location, at the same time creating an association with the history of this industrial setting. Especially important in this respect is the Rose Garden, which forms the focal point for open-air cultural events. It is situated in front of the former boiler house, which in future will be used for indoor events. A small part of the Rose Garden is roofed over by a membrane to provide some shelter for this outdoor venue.
The structure next to the boiler house, designed by the team from Munich-based Behnisch Architekten, spans over an area of about 1200 m2 and consists of a tent-like roof (approx. 200 m2) and an open net of fabric chords (approx. 965 m2). These two sections are interconnected to create a coherent structure and are made from the same high-strength material, a PTFE-coated glass-fibre fabric. Stainless steel ropes form the structural framework for both the tent and the open net. The pretensioned chords are 10 cm wide and up to 40 m long. Specially designed articulated stainless steel nodes, permitting movement between the chords and the perimeter cables, enable the chords to form an irregular, three-dimensional network.
A structure of tent-like roofs and open nets seems to “weave” together the buildings of this location, at the same time creating an association with the history of this industrial setting. Especially important in this respect is the Rose Garden, which forms the focal point for open-air cultural events. It is situated in front of the former boiler house, which in future will be used for indoor events. A small part of the Rose Garden is roofed over by a membrane to provide some shelter for this outdoor venue.
The structure next to the boiler house, designed by the team from Munich-based Behnisch Architekten, spans over an area of about 1200 m2 and consists of a tent-like roof (approx. 200 m2) and an open net of fabric chords (approx. 965 m2). These two sections are interconnected to create a coherent structure and are made from the same high-strength material, a PTFE-coated glass-fibre fabric. Stainless steel ropes form the structural framework for both the tent and the open net. The pretensioned chords are 10 cm wide and up to 40 m long. Specially designed articulated stainless steel nodes, permitting movement between the chords and the perimeter cables, enable the chords to form an irregular, three-dimensional network.
Timber pylons made from glued laminated larch support the structure. Each pylon is secured at the top by stainless steel guy ropes fanning out in three directions, which clearly define the orientation of the pylons in space. Both the guy ropes and the perimeter cables are anchored back to foundations. Wire ropes attached to the perimeter cables provide a trellis for climbing plants. The connection details between the tent-like sections and the fabric chords presented a new and considerable challenge in terms of both design and construction, which was solved by seele together with the architects and structural engineers. The structure was completed in July 2010 after nine months of planning, fabrication and erection work by seele cover GmbH. As soon as adjacent areas are ready for development, the net can be “woven” into a larger structure.
