Fraunhofer IFAM

Bremen, Germany

Photo © ATP/Schilling

Research Facilities

Architects: ATP architects engineers

Location: Bremen, Germany
Year: 2013
Client: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e.V.
Competition: 2010, 1st prize
Total Built Area: 6,089 m2
Total Built Area: 6.089 m²

Research defines the future: The design for a new research building for the Fraunhofer Institute was successful in a competition process held in line with § 25 VOF.

The Fraunhofer Society finances applied research - providing a link between the pure research of universities and the development of prototypes by industry. On the campus of the University of Bremen, the third phase of the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Research which researches into materials and adhesive technology is under construction.

The project by ATP was successful in a selection procedure involving 27 original participants and a shortlist of four offices. The central themes of the design were the integration of the building into the structures of the university campus, flexibility and sustainability. It is planned to link the new phase to the main building of the institute via a glazed bridge across Wiener Straße. The present building is just two stories high on the street and a single storey high to the east but the design permits a later extension by either one or two stories up to a height of 15m or horizontal extensions without the ongoing operation of the institute being affected. The clinker façade of IFAM meets the requirement for the use of brick façades laid down in the development plan for the campus. The cantilever over Wiener Straße marks the main entrance with its generous glazed foyer. The concept for the internal spaces of the institute combines large laboratory areas with smaller offices. The consumption of natural resources is reduced through the use of geothermal heating.