Tonality Facade for Dormitory in Lindau

A remarkable modernization in the field of social housing: In Lindau on Lake Constance, an aging dormitory has been extensively renovated and expanded. The modern facade consists of alternating Tonality ceramic and photovoltaic elements. With the building expansion and the new facade, the building now appears clearly structured, well-maintained, and modern. What’s special: In an intensive coordination process, the building owner GWG Lindauer Wohnungsgesellschaft mbH and Leipfinger-Bader developed the unique slate look of the ceramic elements, which were then produced individually for this project.

The dormitory on Nobelstraße in Lindau (Lake Constance) has a history of over 60 years. Built in 1958, it was purchased by the GWG Lindauer Wohnungsgesellschaft in 2013. In collaboration with the city of Lindau, the dormitory now primarily serves the reintegration of people into society.

More Living Quality and Privacy

As both the structural condition and the technical equipment of the building were outdated, it has now been extensively renovated and expanded. Inside, the dormitory was completely gutted. Outside, parts of the building were added, giving the house a uniform shape and clear architectural language. The formerly convoluted corners are a thing of the past. Before the renovation, each floor only had a shared bathroom and a kitchen for all residents. Due to the corner expansion, the number of apartments per floor remained the same – but now each apartment has its own bathroom and a pantry kitchen. This significantly enhances the overall living quality and provides a high level of privacy for the residents.

Exceptionally Lightweight High-End Ceramic

The facade of the building was also completely redesigned, continuing the modernization and enhancement from the inside out. It now appears modern, well-maintained, and clearly structured. Despite its size, the dormitory blends inconspicuously into the built environment. Visually striking on the facade is the interplay between the photovoltaic modules and the elements of the ventilated facade (VHF). The latter comes from Leipfinger-Bader with Tonality facades. The traditional company specializes in ventilated ceramic facades. The high-quality raw materials for the high-end ceramic are sourced regionally in Westerwald. Production also takes place directly on-site. For the Lindau renovation, due to the special nature of the substrate, a very lightweight ceramic element was chosen. While a thickness of 26 millimeters is generally considered standard, in Lindau, elements with a thickness of only 22 millimeters were used. Tonality supplied these in two different formats: 300 by 1000 millimeters and 300 by 1200 millimeters. Both sizes were alternately mounted horizontally on the facade.

Challenging Substructure/strong>

Ceramic facade and photovoltaic panels in harmonious coexistence: The special mixed substructure for the Lindau VHF was supplied and installed by the manufacturer Systea. The photovoltaic system itself consists of a post-and-beam construction as a suspended structure with pressure and cover strips from Schüco. Another special challenge in this project: the interruptions by the cornice bands that run around the building approximately every 1.40 meters. The responsible facade construction company MP Fassadentechnik GmbH from Herzogenrath and Tonality worked closely together, so the building envelope could be erected in line with the building owner’s high-quality execution standards.

Ceramic with Distinctive Slate Look

The color and surface texture of the ceramic used in the men’s dormitory in Lindau is the result of an intensive coordination process between the GWG, the planning team, and the project supervision from the gbd group, which was responsible for the detailed specifications and implementation on the object, and Leipfinger-Bader – making it a highly individualized product. The building owner wanted a slate facade look and chose a ceramic facade with a slate look for the following reasons instead of a real slate facade: « We discussed every detail intensively with the GWG and weighed various designs against each other, so that the light-dark color play and the arrangement of the veins fit exactly in the end. This way, the GWG received an economical facade solution in the desired design from us, which also convinces with its – in a positive sense unusual – indestructibility, » explains Michael Streilein, Key Account Manager at Leipfinger-Bader and responsible for the Tonality facade of the Lindau renovation project.

Facade for Eternity

The longevity of the high-end ceramic was one of the most important decision-making criteria for the GWG, in addition to the design aspect. « We didn’t initially have Tonality in mind for this facade and were very quickly impressed after the first discussions about how extensive the product can be, » explains Alexander Graf, project manager of the GWG Lindauer Wohnungsgesellschaft mbH. For a consistently high-quality appearance and lifelong maintenance-free, the color and UV resistance, as well as the integrated graffiti protection of the ceramic elements, ensure this. Thanks to the special manufacturing process, they are also scratch, impact, and pressure-resistant and insensitive to environmental and weather influences. In terms of fire protection, companies and housing associations rely on a consistent and safe solution: the systems are non-combustible and thus classified into building material class A1 according to EN 13501-1. These properties of the Tonality facades contribute to the long-term preservation of the value of buildings. The separation by the cornice sheets prevents the fire from spreading between the floors in the ventilation area. This means that fire protection and the advantages of a ventilated construction were harmonized even for the highest building class in consultation with fire protection experts. « This renovation project once again shows that our ceramic can be used in projects of all kinds and effortlessly adapts to planning and design requirements, » concludes Michael Streilein.

For more information, please visit www.leipfinger-bader.de and www.tonality.de.

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Construction Board:

Construction project: Renovation and expansion of a men’s dormitory in Lindau

Client: GWG Lindauer Wohnungsgesellschaft mbH, Lindau

Architecture (overall planning): 1zu1 loeffelholz, Lindau

Architecture (facade): gbd Projects ZT GmbH, Dornbirn

Project supervision: gbd BM GmbH, Lindau

Facade builder: MP Fassadentechnik GmbH, Herzogenrath

Ceramic facade manufacturer: Tonality, Weroth

Construction period: February 2022 to March 2023