Karlsruhe Mensa Hall by Juergen Mayer H.

Founded in 1996 in Berlin, Germany, J. MAYER H.
focuses on works at the intersection of architecture, communication and new
technology. From urban
planning schemes and buildings to installation work and objects with new
materials, the relationship between the human body, technology and nature form
the background for a new production of space.

One of their recent projects is the dining hall
at Karlsruhe University. Mensa Karlsruhe is an elastic
space, that sits in the centre of the Karlsruhe
University Campus. As an extension of the already existing facilities, the city
of Karlsruhe wanted a canteen that would serve the growing number of students. The
building became the new address of the campus, negotiating between the
identities of three universities as well as between the urban fabric and the
Hardtwad forest. The building reacts to this special
condition with different stages of porosity.

The entire frame of the building is made of laminated wooden beams and pillars. These are clad with a polyurethane skin which is yellow on the outside and green on the inside. It
conceals the seams while emphasizing the project’s abstract and graphic appearance...  

The porosity of the facades depends on their orientation. The building contains the dining rooms, kitchens and an array of public spaces. This implies
a spiral circulation through the building, which rises to a terrace overlooking
the soccer pitch where the German national team played several matches at the
beginning of the 20th century.

The concept of the design is taking two slabs stuck together and detaching them by the effect of a
force. The connections left between the two planes allow a modulation of
different levels of porosity on the exterior, thereby linking the building to
the campus’s surrounding area and to the forest opposite.

The interiors are painted in various shades of green to underline the different uses of the rooms. Complementary colors are used for specific furniture. In the words of the architect, it is hoped that large
numbers of students may cross paths, get to know one another and maybe even
fall in love. That people should associate the heart with a designed place is
the best reward for an architecture conceived to be a part of contemporary
life.

The construction period was from December 2004 up to January 2007. Mensa Karlsruhe started operating on March 12th 2007

Team J. MAYER H.:
Jürgen Mayer H., Andre Santer, Sebastian Finckh, Julia
Neitzel, Wilko Hoffmann, Jan Stockebrand, Marcus Blum
with the following collaborators:
ARUP, Berlin (structural engineering)
Martin Scherer (Kitchen Engineer),
Uli Wiesler (Works supervisor),
Klaus Wiederkehr (Landscape Architect),

Photos courtesy of J.Mayer H.