As part of a cooperation between the Kulturzentrum Schlachthof, students from the University of Kassel redesigned the bar area in the cultural center. Two students from the product design department and one student from the architecture department were involved.

The cultural center is an event venue, consulting center and cultural meeting place in Kassel. In close cooperation with a team from the Schlachthof, a design concept was developed that picks up on the tradition of the cultural center and emphasizes its diversity. The design of the objects makes it possible to create different scenarios in the space and thus respond to the different event formats.

Part of this redesign was the conception and implementation of a concrete counter. This was made possible through the cooperation between the departments 06, 14 and the art academy as well as the company B.Ton Betondesign. The individual pieces were manufactured and installed on site.

The concrete used is based on ultra-high performance concrete, which was developed and optimized for structural applications at the Department of Construction Materials and Construction Chemistry. This was used, for example, in the construction of the Gärtnerplatz Bridge in Kassel. Together with the company b.ton Betondesign, which has been using various modifications of this concrete in the artistic and creative field for years, a concrete was optimized for this application at the WdBB department. Within the scope of two master projects, the adhesive bond of the concrete with different adhesives was investigated with the aim of evaluating the optimal adhesive for the installation of the individual concrete elements. On the other hand, various coating agents were tested in a second master project. It is true that this ultra-high performance concrete has a particularly high impermeability, so that water and other liquids can penetrate the concrete only with difficulty. Nevertheless, the very smooth concrete shows a certain sensitivity to soiling and must therefore be protected with special coatings.

Persons involved:

University of Art
Johannes Choe - Student Product Design
Mona Schmidt - Student Product Design

FB 06 - Architecture and Landscape Planning
Jonas Wenner - Bachelor student Architecture

FB 14 - Civil and Environmental Engineering - Materials of Construction and Construction Chemistry
Alexander Wetzel - Akademischer Rat
Dominik Hübenthal - Leiter Betonlabor
Cristin Umbach - Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin
Philipp Wessling - Master Student Civil Engineering
Marouen Amira - Master Student Civil Engineering

b.ton Concrete Design
Jennifer Paul
Alexander Paul