Renovation Ecological Seminar Space, Vissum, Germany

A courtyard, part of a former farm property, is being converted into a seminar center through renovations and entirely new concepts. With yurts and tiny houses, this three-sided courtyard in the Altmark is being redesigned using ecological and locally sourced materials. A restaurant will be created from the old stable, while the barn will be converted into a wellness area with yoga room. With all these transformations and several new buildings additions, the courtyard becomes a place for authentic encounters and personal growth.

A significant part of the project's ecological balance is derived from the nature of the renovation, as the courtyard buildings remain completely in place during the renovation. Leaving these historically protected buildings in place reduces the environmental impact of building a seminar center with the highest standards of human comfort. A detailed climate and energy concept tries to integrate the existing building structure into the building complex.

The passive building optimization concept includes summer shading for extensive comfort without high energy consumption. Natural ventilation is integrated into the design for this purpose as well. The ventilation system includes mechanical ventilation with heat recovery for wellness and seminar buildings, natural window ventilation for the reception area, main house and yurts as well as summer cross ventilation through large ventilation flaps in the wellness area.

The complex is heated by the renewable raw material wood. After several energy supply variants were examined, the conclusion was reached that a wood chip boiler can offer a significant primary energy and CO2 emission savings. In addition a photovoltaic system installed on the roofs of the buildings is production renewable electricity for onsite usage.