The Cradle starts with timber construction
Düsseldorf, 26th April 2022. The timber construction work begins on the sustainable iconic project The Cradle in Düsseldorf's Medienhafen. Around 2,150 m3 of sustainably sourced timber from European forests will be used here over the next six months. The material will mainly be used in the ceilings, supports, and the building's characteristic façade. The timber will be returned to the material cycle and recycled in line with the Cradle-to-Cradle© philosophy if the building is dismantled. The Cradle is the third project of the project developer INTERBODEN in Düsseldorf's MedienHafen. With the start of timber construction, the completion of the building's shell is completed. The building is scheduled for completion in the first half of 2023.
The sustainable construction project The Cradle is being developed as a timber hybrid construction according to the Cradle-to-Cradle© (C2C) principle. This means that timber is combined with other building materials and used wherever it can replace finite materials such as concrete, steel or plastics. "We source our timber exclusively from sustainable forestry in Europe, mostly even from Germany, in line with the C2C philosophy," says Andreas Willms, The Cradle Project Manager at INTERBODEN. "Calculations show that the overall CO2 footprint will be reduced by around 1,900 tonnes compared to conventional buildings. This corresponds to approximately 10 million kilometres driven by cars (251 circumnavigations of the Earth) and a reduction of around 40 percent compared to conventional buildings. The use of timber instead of finite resources is the decisive factor for this." Another reason is a logistics concept where the timber is processed directly at suitable locations on its transport route and does not have to make large detours.
INTERBODEN is working with the company DERIX for the timber construction. "We are continuously looking for new ways to make timber construction even more sustainable and resource-efficient than it already is. As the first company in our industry, we have made the return of used timber components to our customers the standard," says Markus Steppler, Sales Director at DERIX. The Cradle serves as a material warehouse. Maximum recyclability is achieved through demountability using reversible connections. All material data is linked to the BIM model of the project in the digital material passport and is available for possible later dismantling. "This increases the value of the building and allows for a completely new perspective on real estate investment," says Carsten Boell, Managing Director of INTERBODEN Innovative Gewerbewelten. After use, the materials are returned to the material cycle as much as possible according to the C2C principle and reused.
Building with timber
"We chose to use timber because it has particularly positive effects on material health and CO2 footprint," explains Willms. This means that the material has a positive effect on the working environment. The approximately 2,150 m3 of timber are distributed over approximately 1,750 m3 of spruce, 225 m3 of larch, and 175 m3 of beech. For comparison: approximately 3,000 m3 of timber were used in the world's largest timber roller coaster, Colossos, at the Heide Park Resort in Soltau. Each type of timber was selected for its individual properties for the respective intended use.
