LTH Castings is a foundry
that manufactures products in aluminum and magnesium, mainly
for major German car manufacturers. The high-tech production
requires a high quality level of working environmentin order
to achieve a high standard of product quality. Project represents
the first phase of relocation from a location which does not
have room for adequate expansion, and production itself is
becoming too strong a burden for the surrounding area near
the medieval town. The first stage of the relocation into
the new industrial zone was the construction of tool shop
facility of 5.200 m2, consisting of a development department
in a traditional office building and a large-volume production
hall with all the necessary infrastructure. Duality of the
program is reflected in the duality of architectural composition.
Development department is housed in a three-storey building
with vertical concrete shades as its strongest element. Shades
reduce the size of heat intrusion as well as disruptive aggressive
morning and afternoon light using only their geometry, with
no mechanical help. Tectonics and vertical dynamics of the
development building is adjoined by a subdued composition
of the production hall. Prefabricated reinforced concrete
structure easily bears all load situations and is also a suitable
frame for lightweight shell of thermal insulated metal sandwich
made with insulation thickness of 15 cm to ensure adequate
thermal stability of the working environment. As an adequate
lighting is of the utmost importance for precise manual work
process, we introduced sheds on the roof to ensure a high
level of quality of northern light. This reduces the cost
of energy for lighting, while allowing workers visual contact
with the outside world. The entire interior of the production
volume is painted in light gray RAL 9002, providing a sense
of brightness and minimum contrast of light, being the least
tiring for workers' eyes. Elements of natural night ventilation
facility are arranged in the sheds. Grilles are mounted in
the lower and upper zones, in the summer they open during
the night. Natural draft cools the workspace by a few degrees,
allowing the delayed start of cooling the building for a few
hours. Energy supply of the building is arranged with groundwater,
its energy potential is transformed into the summer cooling
and winter heating via heat pumps. This reduces the carbon
footprint of the building by 60%, the cost of energy supply
is also reduced by the same amount. If the development of
the company continues as projected, other segments of production
will join the tool shop within a few years. Total industrial
complex would then total 23.000 m2. |