Commissioned by the Cologne University Foundation, InnoDom Cologne is an innovation and start-up centre designed by the German architectural studio Kadawittfeldarchitektur. Located on the University of Cologne’s Lindenthal campus, this five-storey building harmoniously blends into the urban landscape. Its projecting sections and recesses cleverly reference the surrounding environment, mirroring the heights of adjacent buildings.
A think tank with the feel of a durable and industrial workshop, InnoDom Cologne is more than just a conventional office building. It provides a variety of co-working, meeting, and hang-out spaces for the university’s Gateway Excellence Start-up Centre, student start-up founders, and service providers supporting start-ups.
Architectural design and colourful spaces
To ascertain the most advantageous shape and fit for InnoDom, Kadawittfeldarchitektur carried out a series of studies into the volume, shape, and outer skin. The building’s recesses and projecting elements reference the lines of vision, heights, and scales of neighbouring structures. Its polygonal shape respects distances and ensures access is easily legible from the outside. During early planning stages, spatial requirements and functional sequences were determined in participatory workshops with various start-ups and Gateway staff.
InnoDom’s two double-storey spaces, with panoramic glazing and bright, monochromatic colours, are a notable architectural feature. At night and on darker days, these spaces appear like beacons. They function as display windows open to the city, providing added value in the form of “LIKE IT” spaces, encouraging users to Lounge about, Inspire one another, Kick-start communication, Experience new things, Inform themselves, and Touch base. “The InnoDom Cologne’s LIKE ITs really make the building stand out,” says Kadawittfeldarchitektur.
The turquoise-coloured LIKE IT 1 is located on the third and fourth floors. A semi-transparent layer of coloured expanded metal highlights the space’s different uses, including a climbing/hanging wall. The yellow-coloured LIKE IT 2 interacts with the city at street level and is defined by a staircase with staggered seating.
A contemporary meets industrial aesthetic
The interiors of InnoDom Cologne are designed to create spaces that feel like a think tank, workshop, and hang-out, both serious-minded and playful. Throughout the building, a contemporary meets industrial aesthetic combines warm and raw materials with bright and muted colours. Open office areas on the upper floors wrap around the access core, where users can avail of coffee and copy points, lockers, and seating niches. InnoDom’s design also offers permanent workstations surrounded by 3D acoustic screens, teamwork spaces with bench layouts, and “touchdown zones” that can be configured at will. The ground floor houses a reception lobby with a large industrial-like wooden counter, a cafeteria, and conference facilities.
Sound-absorbent wall surfaces, ceiling absorbers, and furnishings attenuate noise, helping to improve concentration and productivity. Kadawittfeldarchitektur prioritised sustainability in the choice of materials, including cement-bonded wood wool panels, floor coverings made of high-quality natural rubber, and wood acoustic cladding. The studio placed an emphasis on components that are recyclable or possess a high proportion of recycled materials.
Structural elements
The facade’s exterior design consists of vertical aluminium pilaster strips with a 0.675 metre spacing (expanding to 2.7 metres in the meeting rooms and lobby facade), creating a striking visual element. The mullion/transom facade structure incorporates glazed and closed elements; glazing is partly openable, providing additional ventilation and a smoke exhaust. Perforated sheet aluminium, coated in coloured paint, is used for closed facade elements. Zip-controlled textile shading is positioned between the pilaster strips and the mullion/transom structure. In large closed areas on the upper floors, the sheet aluminium between the pilaster strips juts out in steps from the main line of the facade, creating a vivid geometric progression.
The building’s load-bearing structure incorporates a reinforced steel skeleton, strengthened by a central access core and ceiling slabs. A protruding pillar-free section features two-storey reinforced concrete trussed girders and a protruding reinforced concrete slab above the central entrance area.
Sustainable and energy-efficient design
Kadawittfeldarchitektur’s design prioritises a high-grade facade, energy-efficient technology with a heat recovery system, and an outer skin with low thermal bridging. InnoDom is connected to a remote heating and cooling network. Ground-floor cooling is provided by underfloor cooling, with peak load coverage and personal settings through ceiling-mounted radiant cooling profiles; ground-floor heating is provided by underfloor heating. On upper floors, basic cooling is via concrete core temperature conditioning, with heating through concrete core temperature conditioning and ceiling-mounted heating panels, emphasising the building’s industrial aesthetic.
A trio of urban terraces
InnoDom’s staggered setbacks have created three urban roof terraces with diverse uses. The fourth-floor “Early Bird” terrace boasts a soft tartan floor, ideal for yoga sessions. The third-floor “Green Thumb” terrace is perfect for urban gardening, featuring raised beds and planters. The fourth-floor “Sundowner” terrace includes a large pergola and a communal high table. Roof areas that do not function as terraces or house facilities are covered with grass and vegetation.
