One of the Most Unusual Buildings in the World - Nord LB Building

The new headquarters of the Norddeutsche Landesbank is not only a bank, which serves as an attractive workplace for its 1500 employees, but also the most spectacular building that has been built in Hanover in the last years.

It was designed by a company named Behnish, Behnish and Partner, and opened in June of 2002. The beautiful building was so awesome, in fact, that it won the Lower-Saxony state prize for architecture in 2002. Being a sophisticated office complex, it is home to many resturaunts, shops, and the NORD/LB's very own art gallery, which is used for certain events. There are three lakes on its campus, which helps heat, ventilate, and air-condition itself.

The shiny, glassy building contains an astonishing 81,000 glass panes that have the potential to create an amazing display of fractals of golden in the sunset, and at night a shimmering display of silvery turquoises when the lights inside the building are turned on.

It is a beautiful man made structure and a technique of giving a warm work atmosphere to approximately 1500 staff members of the bank. The building also includes a restaurant and an exhibition center for the staff of the bank. The structure is a very good method of going green, as it is an Eco-friendly design built to reduce carbon dioxide emission into the atmosphere by maximizing the use of natural daylight. Such beautiful and efficient structures add to the beauty of the city. The building is new and is recently completed and is the hottest tourist destination of Hanover.

The building appears like a number of steel and glass boxed are piled over each other. The best part of the building is the good restaurant for the staff of the bank. The restaurant has a roof in shape of butterfly wings and also a tower that is approximately 20 meters tall and it changes colors with the changing position of the sun. The thought of it is so beautiful and natural that it has turned to be the major tourist attractions of the city.

A further special feature of the building are the three lakes in the center of the inner courtyard. The lakes link up optically to form an overall water surface area that is 3,300 square metres in size and forms part of an exemplary ecological concept for heating, ventilation and air-conditioning.

The building occupies an entire city block and serves as an important linking element between the various activities which define the neighbouring quarters of the city: retail, commercial, residential, cultural, sport and leisure. Through varying heights a building emerges which gently integrates itself in the existing fabric of the city.

In accordance with urban-planning guidelines, the shallow-plan perimeter building is aligned with the existing streets, complementing the pattern and scale of its surroundings.

From the exterior it resembles the traditional city block, whilst at its centre, protected from the noise of the heavily trafficked streets, lies the heart of the complex, a large, public courtyard. This courtyard is characterized, but not dominated by the daily operations of the bank itself and further enlivened by shops, restaurants, cafés, large reflecting pools, extensive landscaping and public art.

A distinctive, seventy-meter-high building rises from the courtyard, detaching itself through a series of twists and turns from the formal order of the lower, perimeter building, which establishes formal and visual links to the city beyond.

The expressive form of the tower refers neither to the styles of the immediate surroundings, nor to the orthogonal grid of the post-war city; instead it is a response to the historical downtown geometries to the north.

A vast proportion of the building is naturally ventilated. The interior is characterized by design decisions related to the progressive energy concept; superstructure is exposed and windows provide ventilation. Areas of ‘double facade’ provide protection against noise and vehicle emissions, whilst also serving as a duct transferring clean air from the central courtyard to the individual offices. The large areas of water in the courtyard increase the reflection of daylight and contribute towards a beneficial microclimate. Generous roof gardens not only soften the appearance of the building, they also act to improve the general climate for the occupants, and to collect rainwater for irrigation and use within the building.

With its transparency, its landmark high-rise, its courageous constructions and an innovative energy concept, the new building takes your breath away and makes it hard to look aside. This bank is a noble piece of engineering art beyond all doubt. A visit to Hanover in Germany is definitely recommended to those who are in search of the opportunity to see one of the most peculiar buildings in the world with one's own eyes and explore it.

Date: 2016-04-22; view: 857