Europe
 
                 
             
                 
            
                            
                                
                                    
                                        
                                            
                                                Collegium
                                            
                                        
                                    
                                        
                                            
                                                Academicum,
                                            
                                        
                                    
                                
                            
                                
                                    
                                        
                                            
                                                Heidelberg,
                                            
                                        
                                    
                                        
                                            
                                                Germany
                                            
                                        
                                    
                                
                            
                            
                            Innovative approaches for sustainable building methods
The Collegium Academicum project in Heidelberg, Germany, combines pioneering usage concepts, 'sufficient' building methods, and community-based living to deliver a prime example of tomorrow's construction culture. It was realised in cooperation with Mietshäusersyndikat, an organisation that supports the development of self-organised apartment buildings in Germany. The finished project is a place that re-defines the concept of ownership, shares out responsibility, and is guided primarily by a focus on social and ecological sustainability.
Community-based living – a fresh approach
This self-organised residence project was initiated in 2013 by a student group and serves as a beacon project for a new approach to communal living. This students' residence in Heidelberg turns a number of forward-looking concepts into reality: With the support of Mietshäusersyndikat, the building will remain permanently in the ownership of its residents and of future generations. In this way, it addresses housing shortages and is deliberately promoting an alternative to profit-oriented development.
Flexible room concept combined with a 'sufficient building' approach
The project group has a clear guiding principle to enable communal, self-determined and ecologically responsible living. As part of this, a flexible room concept was implemented: flexible dividing walls developed jointly with the architects and the timber construction contractor allow the residents to choose between two room sizes. Many of the first people to live here deliberately went for the smaller room option of 7 m², as this would allow for larger shared and commonly used areas. The project is also characterised by the principle of sufficiency, with less individual space and more communal areas. Small, flexible private rooms are combined with more generously proportioned rooms for communal use.
Sustainable, healthier living – with timber and pro clima
Particular emphasis was placed on ecological construction methods. The project was built in a largely CO₂-neutral manner and deliberately opted for timber and other ecological construction materials and products. In combination with carefully planned airtightness and insulation, the timber construction method delivers an improved indoor climate and increased energy efficiency. The project group with around 30 members opted for over a dozen pro clima solutions to prevent moisture damage to structures and to prolong the service life of the buildings. These product systems regularly achieve best-in-class results in independent testing for hazardous substances, which means they help to deliver healthy indoor air – an important component of ecologically responsible construction. This pioneering project demonstrates how modern building methods, sustainability and social principles can be successfully combined.
- Key project characteristics: Involvement of a home-building syndicate, self-organisation by students, sustainable, passive house, self-managed, flexible spatial layout thanks to movable dividing walls
 
- Location: Heidelberg, Germany
- Year of completion: 2023
- Client: Projektgruppe Collegium Academicum
- Architects: DGJ Architektur GmbH, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- Timber construction contractor: Züblin Timber
- Structural design: Ingenieurbüro Pirmin Jung
- Construction method: Timber structure
- Number of units: New-build: 46 residential units and additional communal areas, renovation of the existing building
- Use: Accommodation for students and apprentices
This students' residence boasts a compact floor plan and layout, ambitious design standards and carefully planned usage concepts. The result is a welcoming living environment that fosters interaction and a sense of community.
Photo: © Philipp Garschke
Rainscreen facade on the new building.
Photo: © Uli Hillenbrand
Aerial view of the refurbished historical building. The existing building was extended and renovated to achieve better energy efficiency.
Photo: © Philipp Garschke
The interiors of the new living units feature lots of aesthetically pleasing exposed structural timber.
Photo: © Myriam Thuerigen
Flexible dividing walls mean that room sizes can be adapted to create larger communal spaces.
Photo: © Myriam Thuerigen
Architectural models
The wooden model by DGJ Architektur GmbH on the left shows the site layout with the old and new buildings. The ground floor of the new building (right) features an assembly hall, workshop and multi-functional space, and there is a roof terrace over the covered area in the central courtyard – all of these spaces will foster social interaction and participation.  
Images: © DGJ Architektur GmbH
The movable dividing walls allow the residential units to be adapted for changing life situations in the future.
Image: © DGJ Architektur GmbH
How was this project implemented?
The high degree of pre-fabrication of the timber construction elements means that INTELLO airtightness membranes and SOLITEX FRONTA WA breather membranes can be pre-installed in the workshop. Detail transitions such as pipe feed-throughs were sealed using pro clima grommets. A pipe grommet (ROFLEX 200) can be seen here in combination with the SOLITEX FRONTA WA facade membrane, which is fitted behind the timber cladding and actively transports undesired moisture out of the building structure to the outside thanks to its pore-free TEEE functional film.
Pre-fabricated components obviously allow for quicker construction times on site.
Sealing of the building envelope is of critical importance on timber construction projects. This project uses pro clima INTELLO to deliver reliable internal airtightness, and in turn helps to fulfil passive house criteria as well as the requirements of the German KfW 40 Plus standard for energy efficiency.
The SOLITEX ADHERO membrane provides weather protection for the timber elements during the construction phase. When construction is finished, SOLITEX ADHERO remains in place on these components as a permanent airtightness layer between the individual apartment units.
Right from the planning stage, particular attention was paid to resource conservation, recyclability and the ease of separation of the construction materials. As a result, not only are the load-bearing elements and the walls and floor/ceiling elements made of timber... connections and joints have also been implemented using special wood-wood joints.
These joints adhere to the principle of using wood wherever possible, and also offer benefits from a building physics perspective: no condensation will form on these connectors. They are fitted into the appropriate holes and notches using special dead-blow mallets.
Flexible room layouts: Preparations for the installation of flexible dividing walls can be seen here later on, the residents will be able to choose between two room sizes.
The EXTOSEAL ENCORS waterproof sill tape was used for base joints on windows and doors. With its high elasticity, this tape can be flexibly applied to corner geometries and provides excellent protection to underlying structures thanks to its verified resistance to driving rain. The CONTEGA SOLIDO IQ-D window-sealing tape and the pre-folded TESCON PROFECT adhesive tape were used for the interior window joints.
Collegium Academicum is the project group's contribution to the trend in favour of more sustainable approaches and solutions in the construction industry. A high degree of pre-fabrication led to speedier building processes and helped to ensure high-quality execution, which is particularly advantageous consiudering the current shortage of specialist tradespeople on the job market.
 
                 
             
                 
             
                 
             
                 
             
                 
             
                 
             
                 
             
                 
             
                 
             
                 
             
                 
             
                 
             
                 
             
                 
             
                 
             
                 
             
                 
             
                 
             
                 
             
                 
             
                 
             
                 
             
                 
             
                 
             
                 
             
                 
             
                 
             
                 
             
                 
             
                 
             
                 
             
                 
             
                 
             
                 
             
                 
             
                 
             
                 
             
                 
             
                