15.05.2023

Striking new landmark in Pforzheim: topping-out wreath hovers above CARL timber hybrid high-rise.

Photo: Christoph von Zepelin Fotografie; Baugenossenschaft Arlinger eG
Photo: Christoph von Zepelin Fotografie; Baugenossenschaft Arlinger eG
Photo: Christoph von Zepelin Fotografie; Baugenossenschaft Arlinger eG
Photo: Christoph von Zepelin Fotografie; Baugenossenschaft Arlinger eG
Site tour; v.r.n.l. Roman Kreutmayr Daniel Schäfer, Fabian Krug, Katalina Kljujeva, Dieter Elßer, Felix Grüger, Hans-Georg Gärtling, Rosina Burkhard, Stefan Mederle, Maximilian Baumann, Katja Vogt
Site tour CARL
Visualization: Peter W. Schmidt Architekten GmbH

The structural works for the CARL timber hybrid high-rise have been completed, and the climate-friendly building of wood and reinforced concrete now rises 45 m into the sky above Pforzheim. On Friday, 12 May 2023, Baugenossenschaft Arlinger celebrated the topping-out ceremony for its new 14-storey building together with the ZÜBLIN project team, representatives from the architectural office of Peter W. Schmidt Architekten and around 200 guests from politics, business and public administration. The concrete for the final timber hybrid ceiling was poured precisely on schedule the day before. Next, the timber construction experts from ZÜBLIN Timber will install the vertically structured elements of the striking timber façade step by step until the end of August. At the same time, work will begin on the interior. The wood/aluminium windows on the first floor have already been installed. The high-rise building forms part of a three-part turnkey complex that also comprises two additional residential buildings including a day-care centre in reinforced concrete. The entire project is being realised for the client, Baugenossenschaft Arlinger, by Ed. Züblin AG as general contractor together with its Karlsruhe subdivision. The interior fit-out in these two adjacent six- and four-storey buildings is already in full swing, and the technical building equipment is in the process of being installed.

“Important answers on the sustainability of construction”
In his welcoming speech, Carsten von Zepelin, Chairman of the Board of Baugenossenschaft Arlinger, said, “CARL is a lighthouse project in the truest sense of the word. It contributes significantly to the modernisation of construction and provides important answers to the question of sustainability in the building sector. Beyond that, it is also helping to increase buildable land reserves in the city centre while making a credible contribution to resource conservation, redensification and urban consolidation.” Senior construction manager Michael Jäger from project leader ZÜBLIN Subdivision Karlsruhe’s turnkey construction unit highlighted the “trusting and constructive cooperation with our client” as well as the “consistently effective on-site coordination” with the timber construction team from ZÜBLIN Timber. “The construction of the CARL timber hybrid building is a very complex and demanding engineering task. The specifications for structural strength, fire protection and sound insulation were particularly challenging at times,” Michael Jäger reports. Simon Pfeffer, technical business unit manager at ZÜBLIN Timber, adds: “We are proud of our work on CARL, another timber hybrid building above the high-rise threshold, and that we can offer its future residents the unique experience of living in a timber building.”

The CARL timber hybrid high-rise is an extremely sustainable building. The predominant building material, wood, is climate-neutral and for the most part has been locally sourced from the naturally managed Pforzheim forest. Timber also has excellent insulating properties: certified energy-efficient to KfW Standard 55 EE, the new Baugenossenschaft Arlinger building will only require 55 percent of the energy of a conventional building.

For more information on the CARL timber hybrid high-rise, see https://carl.arlinger.de/