Düsseldorf’s first hybrid timber construction office building is being developed by HPP Architekten. Approved by the City council in October last year, the building on Speditionstrasse 2 in the Media Harbor will be built by Ratingen project developer INTERBODEN and will open development on the southern part of Harbour A.

Approximately 5,200 square meters of office space, as well as 600 square meters of space for gastronomic use on the ground floor will be created between the Trivago and Heimathafen projects, which are already under construction. The Cradle has not even been built yet, but its pioneering concept has already received its second distinguished architectural prize. Designed by HPP, the building was awarded the ICONIC AWARD 2018: Innovative Architecture by the German Design Council.

The project is inspired by the cradle-to-cradle-principle, whereby, according to the biomimetic approach to the design of buildings, individual components are recycled after use, CO2 emissions are reduced, and the use of non-recyclable materials is minimized. The latter is reflected in the hybrid wood construction. Load-bearing timber ceilings are connected reversibly to concrete filigree roofs, thereby meeting sound insulation, fire protection and weatherproofing requirements.

“I am convinced that the principle will prevail in our industry, because it is more sustainable than ENEV, which rather promotes the production of stronger, non-reusable, and hard-to-dispose-of insulating materials,” commented Vanja Schneider, Managing Director of INTERBODEN Innovative Gewerbewelten GmbH & Co. KG.

In the spirit of the circular economy, components are reversibly connected so that they can be recycled after use. In addition, healthy and fully recyclable building products are used or even leased from the manufacturer for their lifetime – The Cradle thus becomes a material depot. The ‘Material Passport’ lists all the materials used, which provides precise information about the available stock and for later dismantling.