Future-oriented Construction

The pioneering spirit, courage and technically brilliant performances have been closely linked for over 130 years with the name „Mont- Cenis". Fascinated by a technical masterpiece of the time, the 13 km long tunnel through Mont Cenis in the French Alpes, in 1872 French investors gave the Name Mont-Cenis tho five mining fields joined together to form a single pit. The mine was closed in 1978. The decision of the Minister of the Interior of the state of North Rhine Westphalia to move the continuing training academy to Herne opened up the chance for a new technical „masterpiece" on „Mont-Cenis" at the end of the 80s. Starting from an urban planning drafting seminar for the International Building Exhibition Emscher Park it took just about ten years to complete a further masterpiece for the ecological and economic renewal of the region. A visionary architectural concept provides the impulse for the breakthrough to a new age: the neglected site of the old Mont Cenis mine in Herne has received a new face with a gigantic striking glass cover.



The construction of the glas capsule was built with elements from north-rhine Westphalia. "Made in NRW" they provided the regional building industry with new impulses.



56 spruce trunks and other rectangular wooden sections (a total of 3,475 m² of wood) form the framework for the micro-climate capsule. They are linked to one another by steel cables and nodes. Thanks to the protected climate in the hall, the wood did not have to be treated. The uniform basic grid (12 x 12 m) enables cost-effective (pre- )finishing. On the outside, waxed larchwood and larch laminated wood was used. The dimensions of the capsule are: length 176 metres, width 72 metres, height 15 metres.



A total of 20,640 m² glass has been laid in aluminium frames. Of this, 10,000 m² are fitted with solar cells in such a way that all areas in the interior open space and inside the buildings are optimally lit and shaded. For this purpose, solar modules with lighting densities between 53 and 93 % (output 190 to 420 wp) were used. The solar field also supplies the necessary shade for the hall. Light reflectors in front of the windows of the inside houses intensify the supply of daylight to the rear areas.