As part of a cooperation between the Schlachthof cultural center, students from the University of Kassel have 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, advice 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.

One part of this redesign was the conception and implementation of a concrete counter. This was made possible by the cooperation between departments 06, 14 and the art college as well as the company B.Ton Betondesign, which manufactured the individual pieces and installed them 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 Gärtnerplatzbrücke 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. As part of two master's projects, the bonding of the concrete with various adhesives was investigated with the aim of evaluating the optimum adhesive for the installation of the individual concrete elements. On the other hand, various coating agents were tested in a second master's project. This ultra-high performance concrete is particularly impermeable, making it difficult for water and other liquids to penetrate the concrete. Nevertheless, the very smooth concrete shows a certain sensitivity to soiling and must therefore be protected with special coatings.

Persons involved:

Kunsthochschule
Johannes Choe - Product Design student
Mona Schmidt - Product Design student

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

Department 14 - Civil and Environmental Engineering - Construction Materials and Chemistry
Alexander Wetzel - Academic Advisor
Dominik Hübenthal - Head of Concrete Laboratory
Cristin Umbach - Research Assistant
Philipp Wessling - Master's Student Civil Engineering
Marouen Amira - Master's Student Civil Engineering

b.ton Betondesign
Jennifer Paul
Alexander Paul