Wood In Architecture Issue 1, 2023

SUSTAINABILITY
the adjacent floors of offices. The fifth floor
has a sky lounge with panoramic windows
and a spacious external terrace. In every
part of the building — from the supports,
beams, windows, and doors to the cladding
and railings — timber is visible, adding a
natural, clear feel and bringing nature into the
individual spaces.
The hybrid combination of timber and
concrete saved up to 80% of CO2 per square
metre of floor area. Low construction weight,
short shell construction times, high reliability
in planning and costs, and durability are other
advantages of this construction approach.
Particular emphasis was placed on using
materials that can be recycled wherever
possible.
2
EDGE Suedkreuz Berlin is the first
building in Germany to be uploaded to the
MADASTER material database for building
construction. This material passport allows
the materials used to be reused and recycled,
enabling precise monitoring of ecological
sustainability. The building also received
an overall German Sustainable Building
Council (DGNB) compliance rating of 95.4%,
making it a sustainable architecture project
in Germany. DGNB is a German sustainability
accreditation. The building also received the
DGNB Diamond award for design quality as
well as Germany’s first WELL Core & Shell
Gold certificate.
3
1 Four tree-like shapes of
different heights at the Carré
2 PEFC-certified spruce was
used for the supporting
elements
3 The hybrid combination
of timber and concrete
saved up to 80% of CO2
per square metre of floor
area
Sergei Tchoban, partner at Tchoban Voss
Architekten, said: “EDGE Suedkreuz Berlin
is not just an ensemble of buildings. For me,
the project is and remains a prototype of a
new way of thinking. In the construction of
the buildings, the focus was on reducing the
weight and thus the CO2 footprint as much
as possible while simultaneously combining
the aesthetics of the building with an ethical
approach to nature. Emphasis was placed
on using materials that can be recycled
according to the cradle-to-cradle principle.
The prefabrication of the building components
and their possible repeated use ensure a
sustainable building system that makes it
possible to create impressive spaces and
future-oriented working environments.” WIA
WOOD IN ARCHITECTURE • ISSUE 1 – 2023 33