Heliotrope (building)
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The Heliotrope is a design of
environmentally friendly Environment friendly processes, or environmental-friendly processes (also referred to as eco-friendly, nature-friendly, and green), are sustainability and marketing terms referring to goods and services, laws, guidelines and policies that clai ...
housing by German architect
Rolf Disch Rolf Disch is a German architect, solar energy pioneer and environmental activist. Born in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany, Disch has dedicated particular focus to regional renewable and sustainable energy. As head of his own architecture firm, ...
. Three such buildings exist in Germany; the first experimental version was built in 1994 as the architect's home in
Freiburg im Breisgau Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population o ...
, while the other two were used as exhibition buildings for the
Hansgrohe Hansgrohe SE is a German sanitary fittings manufacturer. It was founded by Hans Grohe in 1901, in Schiltach, Baden Wuerttemberg, Germany. Hansgrohe is one of the world's largest shower head, hand shower and tap suppliers, next to competitors such ...
company in
Offenburg Offenburg ("open borough" - coat of arms showing open gates; Low Alemannic German, Low Alemmanic: ''Offäburg'') is a city located in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With nearly 60,000 inhabitants (2019), it is the largest city and the ad ...
and a dentist's lab in
Hilpoltstein Hilpoltstein () is a town in the district of Roth, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 10 km southeast of Roth bei Nürnberg and 30 km south of Nuremberg, close to the lake 'Rothsee. History * Origins of the castle and the town date back to the ...
in
Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
. Several different energy generation modules are used in the building including a dual-axis solar photovoltaic tracking panel, a geothermal heat exchanger, a combined heat and power unit (CHP) and solar-thermal balcony railings to provide heat and warm water. These innovations along with the favorable insulation of the residence allows the Heliotrope to capture anywhere between four and six times its energy usage depending on the time of year. The Heliotrope is also fitted with a grey-water cleansing system and built-in natural waste
composting Compost is a mixture of ingredients used as plant fertilizer and to improve soil's physical, chemical and biological properties. It is commonly prepared by decomposing plant, food waste, recycling organic materials and manure. The resulting m ...
. At the same time that Freiburg ’s Heliotrope was built,
Hansgrohe Hansgrohe SE is a German sanitary fittings manufacturer. It was founded by Hans Grohe in 1901, in Schiltach, Baden Wuerttemberg, Germany. Hansgrohe is one of the world's largest shower head, hand shower and tap suppliers, next to competitors such ...
contracted Disch's architecture practice to design and build another Heliotrope to be used as a visitor’s center and showroom in
Offenburg Offenburg ("open borough" - coat of arms showing open gates; Low Alemannic German, Low Alemmanic: ''Offäburg'') is a city located in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With nearly 60,000 inhabitants (2019), it is the largest city and the ad ...
, Germany. A third one was then contracted and built in
Hilpoltstein Hilpoltstein () is a town in the district of Roth, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 10 km southeast of Roth bei Nürnberg and 30 km south of Nuremberg, close to the lake 'Rothsee. History * Origins of the castle and the town date back to the ...
,
Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
to be used as a technical dental laboratory. Disch's unique design accommodates different utilizations from private residences to laboratories, and nevertheless maintains the structure's positive energy balance. Disch also designed the ''
Sonnenschiff ''Sonnenschiff'' () is a large integrated office and retail building in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany. It was built in 2004 in the city's Vauban quarter as part of the Solar Settlement at Schlierberg. Sonnenschiff was designed by the architect ...
'' office complex.


PlusEnergy

PlusEnergy is a concept coined by Rolf Disch that indicates a structure's energy efficiency. A PlusEnergy building holds a positive energy balance, generating more energy than it uses. With the completion of his private residence, the Heliotrope, in 1994, Disch had created the first PlusEnergy house in the world. The idea of a home that captures more energy than it consumes made perfect sense to him. His next goal in its development then, was the mass adoption of the concept to residential, commercial and retail space. As the concept further developed and gained financial backing, Disch built several more projects with PlusEnergy certifications. “PlusEnergy is a fundamental environmental imperative,” Disch claims. Disch believes that passive building is not enough because passive homes still emit into the atmosphere.


Environment and energy needs

The house is designed to face the sun with its triple-pane windows (U = 0.5) during the heating months of the year and turn its highly insulated back (U = 0.12) to the sun during the warmer months when heating isn't necessary. This significantly reduces heating and cooling requirements for the building throughout the year, which are provided for by a
heat pump A heat pump is a device that can heat a building (or part of a building) by transferring thermal energy from the outside using a refrigeration cycle. Many heat pumps can also operate in the opposite direction, cooling the building by removing h ...
, while hot water is provided by vacuum-tube solar panels. Photovoltaic solar panels with a rated power of 6.6 kW on its roof provide five to six times more energy than the building uses, making the building "energy positive" (PlusEnergy). To further improve energy generation, the panels also rotate independently of the building to follow the sun, while being able to adapt its orientation in case of strong winds.


Water usage and natural waste management

In order to limit water usage, a gray water circuit (for washing dishes and clothes) is used. It also collects rainwater. Waste water is purified in a vegetated cascade pond outside the edifice. Natural waste and excrement are dry composted in the structure as well.


Inhabitant comfort

One of the main attractions of the house, apart from its low energy needs, is its rotating view. As the building turns according to the sun's position, the view changes. This feature was later developed into a rotating hotel concept. The roof deck includes a sun and viewing deck, as well as a garden terrace. The solar panels can be used for sun or rain protection while on the roof terrace. All floors are accessible from the spiral staircase, reducing surface loss through hallways and corridors.


Awards

* 2008 German Sustainability Award * 2007–08 Japanese PEN-Magazine Creativity Award * 2005 Wuppertal Energy and Environment Prize * 2003 Global Energy Award * 2002 European Solar Prize * 2001 Photovoltaic Architecture Prize Baden-Württemberg


Selected works

* Heliotrope,
Vauban, Freiburg Vauban () is a neighbourhood (''Stadtteil'') to the south of the town centre in Freiburg, Germany. It was built as "a sustainable model district" on the site of a former French military base named after Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, the 17th c ...
, 1994 * Heliotrope,
Offenburg Offenburg ("open borough" - coat of arms showing open gates; Low Alemannic German, Low Alemmanic: ''Offäburg'') is a city located in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With nearly 60,000 inhabitants (2019), it is the largest city and the ad ...
, 1994 * Heliotrope,
Hilpoltstein Hilpoltstein () is a town in the district of Roth, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 10 km southeast of Roth bei Nürnberg and 30 km south of Nuremberg, close to the lake 'Rothsee. History * Origins of the castle and the town date back to the ...
, 1995 File:Heliotrop Freiburg.jpg, Heliotrope in
Vauban, Freiburg Vauban () is a neighbourhood (''Stadtteil'') to the south of the town centre in Freiburg, Germany. It was built as "a sustainable model district" on the site of a former French military base named after Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, the 17th c ...
, 1994 File:Heliotrop Nacht.jpg, Heliotrope built for
Hansgrohe Hansgrohe SE is a German sanitary fittings manufacturer. It was founded by Hans Grohe in 1901, in Schiltach, Baden Wuerttemberg, Germany. Hansgrohe is one of the world's largest shower head, hand shower and tap suppliers, next to competitors such ...
in
Offenburg Offenburg ("open borough" - coat of arms showing open gates; Low Alemannic German, Low Alemmanic: ''Offäburg'') is a city located in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With nearly 60,000 inhabitants (2019), it is the largest city and the ad ...
, 1994


See also

*
Sustainable architecture Sustainable architecture is architecture that seeks to minimize the negative environmental impact of buildings through improved efficiency and moderation in the use of materials, energy, development space and the ecosystem at large. Sustainable ...
*
Sun Ship ''Sun Ship'' is a posthumously released jazz album by tenor saxophonist John Coltrane recorded on August 26, 1965. Along with ''First Meditations'', recorded a week later, it was one of the last recording dates for Coltrane's "Classic Quartet" wit ...
*
Solar Settlement The Solar Settlement at Schlierberg (german: Solarsiedlung am Schlierberg) is a 59-home PlusEnergy housing community in Freiburg, Germany. Solar architect Rolf Disch wanted to apply his PlusEnergy concept, created originally with his Helio ...
*
Energy-plus-house An energy-plus building (also called: plus-energy house, efficiency-plus house) produces more energy from renewable energy sources, over the course of a year, than it imports from external sources. This is achieved using a combination of micro ...
*
Passive solar design In passive solar building design, windows, walls, and floors are made to collect, store, reflect, and distribute solar energy, in the form of heat in the winter and reject solar heat in the summer. This is called passive solar design because, unl ...
*
Anti-nuclear movement in Germany The anti-nuclear movement in Germany has a long history dating back to the early 1970s when large demonstrations prevented the construction of a nuclear plant at Wyhl. The Wyhl protests were an example of a local community challenging the nucl ...
*
Green building Green building (also known as green construction or sustainable building) refers to both a structure and the application of processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle: from planni ...
*
Zero-energy building A Zero Energy Building (ZEB), also known as a Net Zero Energy (NZE) building, is a building with net zero energy consumption, meaning the total amount of energy used by the building on an annual basis is equal to the amount of renewable energy c ...
* Villa Girasole


Notes


External links


Official website of the Heliotrop

Freshome.com: brief description with pictures
(archived 2014)


Solar Settlement and Sun Ship Video

PlusEnergy
(archived 2014) {{DEFAULTSORT:Heliotrope (Building) Buildings and structures in Freiburg im Breisgau Low-energy building Solar architecture Solar design Sustainable buildings and structures Houses in Germany