Capricornhaus

With its striking rhythmic facade of red and clear glass panels, the Capricornhaus building has introduced a dynamic new presence to the Düsseldorf’s harbour area while providing a definitive model of energy-efficient design. A particularly exposed and challenging site prompted GATERMANN + SCHOSSIG to develop the i-modul facade, a cladding system that houses building services for heating, cooling, ventilation and heat recovery as well as lighting and sound insulation within unitised cladding panels which measure a mere 20cm in depth. Integrating building services in the facade in this way has greatly increased both the available area and the flexibility of the interior which can be radically transformed without any major refurbishment work. The compact form, innovative building components and intelligent, high-performance facades define Capricornhaus as an exemplary low-energy building. Other sustainable features include geothermal heat pumps, concrete core activation and heat recovery systems, all of which contribute to a considerable reduction in running costs and enable the building to provide a 26% saving on the statutory EnEV requirements for primary energy use.

Planning
May 2002 - March 2004

Typology
Office

Owner
Capricorn Development GmbH&Co.KG

User
E.ON Energy Trading

Area
43.000 m²

Volume
154.000 m³

Energy
26% better than EnEV

Honors
BEX 2009 Innovation Award, 2009
Prime Property Award, Nomination for best rank, 2008
Office Application Award, Special recognition, 2008
label Innovationspreis Architektur und Technik
1st prize for air conditioning in i-modul facade, 2006
Innovationspreis Architektur und Office, Award for Siteco floor lamp, 2006