Bielefeld University Lecture Hall Building Y / Behet Bondzio Lin Architekten

Bielefeld University Lecture Hall Building Y / Behet Bondzio Lin Architekten

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Text description provided by the architects. After a successful participation in the 2018 competition, behet bondzio lin Architekten was commissioned to realize a freestanding amphitheater building with adjoining seminar area on the campus of the University of Bielefeld.

Urban location. The rear of the cuboid building is in the northern foothills of the Teutoburg Forest. The opposite access side is oriented towards the striking main university building from 1969 and at the same time takes up the building line of the existing solitary buildings on the side.

Organization of the building. The rear part of the building, leaning against the ground, houses the 650-seat amphitheater. In the two-storey room, naturally lit by the longitudinal facades, the seats follow the natural course of the slope. A one-storey overhang of the building on the street side in the otherwise simple building volume indicates the location of the main entrance and at the same time forms a natural canopy.

A central concrete core divides the areas described above and serves for vertical internal circulation. The curves of the core, together with overhead light falling through a two-story overhead space, accentuate the journey to the amphitheater entrance.
The use of the natural slope in the development of the amphitheater and the seminar rooms allows exits on the same level on the corresponding floors. This decision reduces the otherwise complex requirements for evacuation and fire protection. It was thus possible to design the building as a constructive wooden structure while respecting the preservation of resources and the desired optimization of assembly times.

Construction. The use of wood as a construction material with low primary energy consumption during construction and with the potential for easy recycling at the end of the life cycle corresponds to the contemporary desire for more sustainability in construction. Thus, only the elements in contact with the ground, such as the surface foundation and the central core, were made of reinforced concrete in accordance with fire protection requirements. The remaining support structure, floor slabs and building envelope were constructed of wood.

Materials. The facades were clad in silver-white titanium zinc in a horizontal standing seam covering the entire perimeter. Window strips in anodized aluminum in a contrasting color with a uniform vertical structure between the horizontal edges.
The interior of the building is determined by a reduced range of materials. The wooden structure, which has been glazed in transparent white and left exposed, and the exposed concrete of the “central box” structured with rough plank formwork, mainly characterize the atmosphere of the room.