Arcitectural Critique Essay, Research Paper

Architectural Critique

of

RWE AG Hochhaus

Name and Date of Magazine

Architectural Record, June 1997.

Name and Location

The RWE AG Hochhaus building in Essen, Germany.

Name and Location of the Architect and Construction Contractor

The architects, Ingenhoven, Overdiek, Kahlen & Partner, are from Dusseldorf.

The contractor used was HOCHTIEF AG.

Building’s Function

The RWE AG Hochhaus building is one in a series of environmentally friendly

structures that Germany has been adding to it’s cities. In and surrounding RWE are

offices, a cafetieria, meeting rooms, gardens, and dining rooms.

Client/Architect Relationship

The architectural company was chosen because they won a contest in urban

design. Not only was thier design good for the environment, but it also would add life to

the slow downtown life.

Materials of RWE

The main structure of the building was made with reinforced concrete. There are

also many energy-saving materials that were used, such as curtain walls, double-glass

facades, exterior and interior safety glazing, “fish-mouth” louvers, double walls,

perforated aluminum blinds, exposed concrete slabs in the ceilings, and cold-water

radiators.

Climate and Site Conditions

The weather conditions in Essen range from hot summer days, to very cold

winters.Many of the architectural components of this building also help with cooling and

heating depending on the temprature outside. Moveable facade panels can be opened to

let in fresh air on a nice day, and the ceilings’ concrete slabs absorb and release heat.

Because of these elements, RWE uses over 1/5 less energy then regular towers.

Construction Methodology

RWE was built specifically to help upgrade Essen and Germany as a whole,

without compromising the energy efficient area and codes, or demolishing the local

landscape. It was constructed in an already urban area of the city, so they had to build it

without much room to move, to avoid ruining the surrounding buildings.

Exterior Apperance

RWE, when seen from certain angles, is almost semetrical. If seen with the

elevator shaft in the middle, either in the front or the back, the entire building could be

split perfectly down the center, creating two equal halves. The lower half of the structure,

for the first 15 or so floors, there is absolutly no huge variation, besides the elevator. It is

just a cylinder made up of small vertical rectangles, all in the same, repeated, uniform

rows. The top half of RWE, except for the very top floor and roof, is the same as the

bottom portion; little rectangles repeated over and over. Just over halfway up the building

is a space just taller then two floors, where the continuity is broken by larger, solid

looking rectangles, some with ventalation holes, others plain.

The mostly glass-walled building is quite transparent, yet at the same tim, at the

right angles, it reflects the outside weather, be it cloudy or a vibrent sunset. Other then a

hard metallic grey, the only color it has derives from those reflections on the outside.

A Similar Building

RWE reminds me of a building I used to live near in Bethesda. It, too, had an

extirior entirely of glass,although brown rather then clear, and it often reflected the sky

on its sides. However, this building was very square, not circular, and I doubt that it had

the same energy-saving materials in it that RWE does.

Bibliography

Architectural Record, June, 1997