„Between ecology and architecture“:
DERIX supports the „Hamburg Architecture Summer“

Info pavilion made of solid wood and aluminum
Initiative Hamburger Architektur Sommer e.V., Picture: Guido Schwarz

On the Magellan Terraces, in the immediate vicinity of the Elbphilharmonie, an information pavilion made of wood and aluminum was created as a temporary installation for the event. Restructuring this project, that was created by the artist collaboration „umschichten“, was supported by the companies DERIX and Schüco. The special feature: All components of the installation are reused. Thus, the pavilion itself concretely demonstrates the usage of the principle of circularity in construction, a central theme of the architecture festival. The temporary structure focuses on ideas of sustainable and resource-saving construction: in the creative approach of the artists’ collective, loans and donations of materials became the fundamental design premise. For example, the DERIX Group supplied around 20 tons of cross-laminated timber in the form of remnants of wall elements for the construction of the pavilion, and Schüco provided 500 six-meter-long aluminum profiles.

Lukasz Lendzinski from „umschichten“ describes the message of the installation as an invitation to experience the value of material as a resource. „Material is a valuable resource that deserves to be used carefully so it can stay in circulation for as long as possible,“ Lendzinski said.

The foundations for efficient reuse of materials are established at an early stage: „If buildings are planned in a circular way right from the start, everyone involved benefits from the good deconstructability of the timber structures and their problem-free reuse. In timber construction in particular, more and more buildings are being designed as „material stores“ or even „urban mines“. The circular use of wood as a building material is sustainable in two ways: on the one hand, because it extends the duration of CO2 storage, and on the other hand, because it conserves resources and saves processing steps, including the associated emissions,“ explains Markus Brößkamp, Managing Director of the DERIX Group.

At the timber engineering company DERIX reusability and circularity concepts are at the center of its work: For example in 2021 the DERIX Group was the first company of its kind to introduce a take-back obligation for its components as standard. The DERIX X-LAM product is Cradle to Cradle certified. DERIX cooperates with madaster, the material cadastre in Germany and promotes hereby also the circular economy in the construction and real estate industry.

The temporary Info Pavilion will continue to exist after the Hamburg Architecture Summer by reshaping its components into other projects. The solid cross-laminated timber elements are reused by various schools – primarily by the Lerchenfeld High School in the Uhlenhorst district of Hamburg. Here, students will work together with „umschichten“ and with the support of students from the AMD (Academy of Fashion & Design) they will develop small thematic pavilions for their schoolyard. The construction of these pavilions is planned as part of a school project week.

The profiles from Schüco will be processed into approximately 160 windows that will be used in the Belle Harbour residential project in eastern HafenCity.

Thus, what the artists’ collective „umschichten“ has developed can be interpreted in many ways: as „rearrange“ of material, architecture and city.