Auditorium Complex, Rheinisch-Westfaelische Technical High School // Aachen // Germany

The Danish architect firm, Schmidt Hammer Lassen won a German competition a couple of months ago, which consisted of designing a new auditorium for the Rheinisch Westfaelische Technical High School in Aachen, Germany. The auditorium complex confines a structure of a total of 13,500 m2. The building will be complete by the year 2012.

The unique element in this project, is the use of grass in the facade and the roof of the building - a rather sustainable solution, which contributes to helping mother nature heal from the wounds that we have caused her through the ages. Despite being ecologically friendly, the grass facade solution also appears very pleasant and elegant on the building's exterior - a pleasant appearing which is at times rather challenging to achieve when designing buildings with natural vegetation, such as the applied grass. Despite the grass facade, the building has a whole bag full of sustainable surprises, such as well-planned natural lighting, natural heating and cooling techniques and many, many more. This project is a great example of how contemporary sustainable architecture should function.