Army Music Corps, Ulm (DE)

The new Army Music Corps building in the Wilhelmsburg Barracks is a clearly organised, two-storey wooden structure that blends harmoniously into the extensive green spaces and sports facilities. The glazed foyer divides the building visually and functionally into two parts: to the north is the large, two-storey rehearsal room, with the overheight register rehearsal rooms grouped around it; the southern part houses the small rehearsal room with adjoining offices, storage and sanitary rooms as well as individual rehearsal rooms on the upper floor. The entrance area on the south side leaps back in a funnel shape, accentuated by a generous glass façade. The roofing protects the entrance and the cafeteria terrace, which forms a link between the interior and exterior spaces.

The sustainable timber construction sits on a massive plinth that rises out of the ground towards the north. The ceilings of the large and small rehearsal rooms consist of a wooden rib construction, while a cross-laminated timber ceiling spans the side rooms. The vertically structured façade is clad in natural, local wood. In the area of the windows, a translucent lamella structure provides glare-free, natural lighting. The large rehearsal room receives daylight to the north through generous glazing with a funnel-shaped reveal and a wooden lamella filter in front. Two skylights projecting above the roof illuminate the small rehearsal room. A two-storey air space accentuates its trapezoidal, free-standing form.

To meet the high acoustic requirements of the music rehearsal house, special constructive measures are necessary. In the foyer, various acoustically effective wooden wall and ceiling panels are used. Between the register rehearsal rooms, individual rehearsal rooms and drum rehearsal rooms, multi-layered lightweight walls arranged at a specific angle to each other prevent unwanted echoes. In the large and small rehearsal rooms, an acoustic shell is installed on the walls and ceilings, whose grid with slightly curved wooden panels avoids standing sound waves.

Client: Federal Republic of Germany, represented by the Federal Ministry of Defence
Architecture: Dietrich | Untertrifaller
Project management: Felix Kruck
Competition: 2019 (1. prize)
Construction: 2021-2022
Area: 2,614 m²
Capacity: Music rehearsal rooms, offices, storage

Partners
statics: Merz Kley Partner, Dornbirn / building services, electrics, HVS: Conplaning, Ulm / Acoustics: Müller BBM, Stuttgart / fire protection: umt Umweltingenieure / costs: Scherr+Klimke, Ulm / landscape: Kling Consult, Krumbach /// rendering: Dietrich | Untertrifaller / expressiv