Embassy of Canada, Berlin
Client
Owner / Developer
Architect
Building Function
Status
Alpine Bau Deutschland GmbH
Owner / Developer
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada
Architect
- Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg (KPMB), Toronto
- Gagnon LeTellier Cyr, Québec
- Smith Carter Architects
Building Function
Office
Status
Completed 04/2005
Facade Scale
Height
Technical Features
approx. 8.500 m²
Height
approx. 35 m
Technical Features
- Rain screen
- Steel sick system facades
- Structural glazing facade
- Natural stone facade
- Polygonal heated facade
- Punch windows
- External sunshade, rigid louvres
We provided
Consultancy
Sound facade decisions start with a clear understanding of the project’s starting point.
- Priedemann organises the available project information, design intent, use, and facade-related technical and external requirements.
- Together with the project participants, objectives, priorities, constraints and unresolved questions are made visible.
- This creates a reliable basis for the next design steps and for decisions before the facade concept is developed in greater detail.
- Priedemann identifies and structures the project information, requirements, objectives and constraints relevant to facade planning.
- These may include design intent, use, technical and energy-related requirements, local conditions, and quality, cost and programme objectives.
- Unresolved questions, dependencies and competing priorities are made explicit and translated into clear decision criteria.
- This creates a reliable basis for early facade design and subsequent planning.
- The subjects reviewed and documented depend on the project stage and agreed scope.
Decision criteria and priorities
- Not every facade requirement has the same priority within a project.
- Design intent, use, technical requirements, local conditions, quality, cost and programme objectives can influence one another.
- Establishing the project basis therefore also means structuring these requirements and making potential conflicts visible.
- The resulting criteria provide a shared basis against which later options and decisions can be assessed consistently.
Facade design for statutory approval develops an existing facade concept for the project’s approval and coordination context.
- Priedemann brings together available design information, technical requirements, materials, facade types and interfaces.
- Depending on the project, fire, safety, building-physics and acoustic requirements are also considered.
- The result is a clear facade basis for coordination with the relevant disciplines and for subsequent design.
- Facade design for statutory approval develops the facade information needed to demonstrate relevant approval requirements.
- Depending on the appointment, Priedemann addresses technical facade subjects, interfaces, fire and safety requirements, and the necessary design information.
- Unresolved points are coordinated with the relevant disciplines and technical contributions are documented.
- The scope, submission process and responsibility for the complete statutory application are agreed for the project.
Technical facade design develops an agreed facade solution into coordinated technical information for implementation.
- Details, components, connections and interfaces are brought together with requirements for construction, materials, building physics, acoustics, fire and safety.
- The required level of development depends on the project, procurement model and appointment.
- This creates a consistent basis for subsequent shop, production and installation planning.
- Technical facade design develops an agreed facade solution in sufficient detail for subsequent implementation.
- Depending on the appointment, Priedemann develops principle details, connections, layers, components, materials and dimensions, and coordinates interfaces with adjacent construction.
- Structural, building-physics, acoustic, fire and safety requirements are considered to the agreed design depth.
- The result is coordinated design information that can provide a basis for shop, production and installation drawings.
- The precise scope is defined for each project.
Facade specifications and tender documentation translate developed facade design into clear technical requirements for tendering and bid comparison.
- Priedemann structures information on construction, materials, details, interfaces and quality criteria and brings the relevant design documents together.
- Depending on the project, this can include technical preliminaries, specifications, quantity information or trade boundaries.
- The scope and function of the documents depend on the procurement and responsibility model.
- Priedemann translates the agreed facade design into technical specifications and tender documentation.
- Requirements, quality criteria, materials, components, interfaces and required evidence are structured and described clearly.
- Depending on the appointment, quantities, component schedules and other technical appendices may be included.
- The documents provide a consistent technical basis for bids and the subsequent award process.
- The scope and responsibility for the complete tender package are agreed with the client.
After a facade manufacturer is appointed, Priedemann reviews its shop drawings, system planning and technical submittals against the agreed design basis.
- This includes comparison with project changes, assessment of structural assumptions and energy/acoustic performance values, and review of technical data sheets for materials and components.
- Priedemann comments on discrepancies and coordinates change management as the facade contact point for the planning team.
- Priedemann reviews the contractor’s shop-drawing information against the agreed requirements and released design basis.
- Depending on the appointment, the review covers system components, details, interfaces, technical assumptions, materials and relevant performance data.
- Deviations and unresolved questions are documented and coordinated with the design team.
- In this way, the review supports technical quality assurance and makes required decisions visible early.
The supervision of assembly and installation is particularly important for us, to ensure the agreed quality. Our principle is that deviations from the agreed planning must be identified at an early stage, documented and the implementation corrected. This controlling refers both to production and manufacturing as well as to the assembly on the building site:
Regular inspection of production and assembly in the factory- Verification of compliance with the approved design, ensuring compliance with the agreed qualities, standards and test series
- Regular reporting on production progress; the reports contain recommendations for possible improvements as well as a list of unfulfilled services, performance arrears, defects identified
Regular inspection at the building site
- Verification of compliance with the approved design, ensuring compliance with the agreed qualities, standards and test series
- Inspection of examples of facade sections as reference values for determining the quality of workmanship – benchmark inspections
- Involvement in performance tests on the facade on the building site (water impermeability, sound insulation, blower door test, etc.)
- Random inspection of the installation work on the building site
- Regular reporting on the installation work including the identification of discrepancies with the original planning
Memberships
