The "Nordbau" was built in 1960-1969 by the well-known architect Paul-Friedrich Posenenske. Posenenske was a representative of functionalism and himself taught as a professor at the Staatliche Hochschule für bildende Künste in Kassel. As an exemplary building of its time, the "Nordbau" is now a listed building.
In the 1960s, the requirements for energy efficiency, fire protection and accessibility were of secondary importance. The renovation of the building is required to meet the demanding energy targets of the state government and the university. In addition, the building fabric has considerable deficiencies that must be urgently eliminated.
For this reason, the university, together with the Landesbetrieb Immobilien Hessen (LBIH) as the building owner, is planning an extensive renovation of the building in the coming years. This also includes the renovation of the glass-aluminum facade. Through the improvement of the energetic characteristic values, an energy saving of approx. 50 % or approx. 70 tons of CO2 per year can be achieved. The special task in the renovation is to harmonize the sensitive handling of the existing building with the new requirements as far as possible. This is therefore being done in very close coordination with the State Office for the Preservation of Historical Monuments as well as the art academy.
