The last load-bearing research components made from reclaimed timber have been installed at TULIUM on the TU Berlin campus: 12 composite columns and a lattice beam now form the skeleton of the foyer.

 The columns are built from old glulam trusses salvaged from the roof structure of a former beverage warehouse in Berlin-Kreuzberg. Procurement, preparation, processing, sorting and the required usability certifications were only possible through the scientific input of several TU Berlin research projects, since Germany currently has no regulated procedures for reusing load-bearing components as load-bearing components.

The lattice beam above is made almost entirely of reclaimed timber. Its top chords come from the same beverage warehouse and a roof truss in Berlin-Kreuzberg, its struts from a temporary support structure at Berlin’s Ostbahnhof station. The additive structural concept reduces metal fasteners in favour of traditional carpentry joints and stays flexible with whatever material is actually available.

Coordination of reclaimed-timber processes by Reallabor B(e) Ware at the Natural Building Lab, TU Berlin & ZRS Architekten, funded by the Berlin Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises.
Manufacturing of the glulam components: Holzwerke Bullinger. Manufacturing of the lattice beam: Terhalle Holzbau.