The former U.S. barracks on the Spinelli site in Mannheim are being transformed into a forward-looking and sustainable urban district. At the heart of the new neighbourhood, a community building for shared uses, local amenities, and co-working spaces is planned on the so-called “Baufeld ReUse” construction site. The goal of the project is to follow the principles of circular construction and rely on the highest possible number of reused components and materials. In this way, the embodied energy used in the construction, and consequently the building’s CO₂ footprint, can be minimized. LMNTAL advised the architectural office Falk Schneemann in the realization competition, particularly on the structural design and the possibilities of constructing the building from reused components.

The design proposes a clear separation between structural system, façade, and interior fit-out. These components are assembled from elements with a high degree of repetition, which reduces the complexity and variety of connection details. For the structural system, reused timber is to be joined with wooden dowels to form dowel-laminated timber slabs, columns, beams, and diagonally braced load-bearing timber stud walls. The floor slab and foundations can be created by arranging, layering, and subsequently grouting reused concrete slabs. The structural concept results in a simple and robust shell construction characterized by a high proportion of reused material. As part of a holistic circular strategy, the design also considers the possibility of disassembling all components at the end of the building’s service life. This ensures that the newly created structural elements can remain in the material cycle not just once, but for multiple future uses and reuses.