Textile Academy: WE-EF project impresses experts
The Textile Academy NRW in Mönchengladbach is one of 30 buildings to be awarded the title “Exemplary buildings in North Rhine-Westphalia 2020”. The building features a unique shimmering textile sheath – showcased with lighting technology from WE-EF.
The award for exemplary buildings in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) is presented every five years. The event is organised by the NRW Ministry of Construction and the North Rhine-Westphalia Chamber of Architects. On 16 November 2020 a total of 30 new or modernised buildings and open space designs from all over North Rhine-Westphalia were awarded the title “Exemplary buildings in NRW 2020”. The award has a wide impact and for 30 years it has made an important contribution to promoting building culture in North Rhine-Westphalia. This year saw the highest number of entries ever with 273 buildings submitted.
It was the interplay of the Textile Academy’s textile façade and light that particularly impressed the jury: “The façade cloaks the building like a curtain. The fall of the folds creates a play of light and shadow, with the rippling fabric contrasting with the cube and its irregularly positioned windows and which remains visible and shimmers through the fabric,” is how the jury’s architecture experts described the reason for their decision. Congratulations are in order to the principals and SOP Architects from Düsseldorf!
The lighting designers from Maass-Licht developed a lighting concept for the unusual textile façade that subtly illuminates the sweeping façade curtain with uplights in the form of inground luminaires and projectors from WE-EF. The intensity of the illumination allows the transparency of the textile membrane to be adjusted to showcase the complex design language of the building’s sheath.
More about the Textile Academy NRW project
Principal: Textile Academy NRW, Moenchengladbach
Architects: Slapa Oberholz Pszczulny SOP Architects, Düsseldorf
Light planning: Maass-Licht, Hamburg/Mainz/Hanover
Planning of membrane facade: FormTL engineers for structural and lightweight construction, Radolfzell
Photos: Thomas Mayer