Rolf Disch
Encyclopedia
Rolf Disch is a German architect, solar energy pioneer and environmental activist who has contributed greatly to the advancement and efficiency of solar architecture internationally. Born in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
, Disch has dedicated particular focus to regional renewable and sustainable energy.
As head of his own architecture firm, Rolf Disch Solar Architecture
, Disch has led Germany as the solar pioneer in respect to residential, retail and commercial building and design. In 1994, Rolf Disch built the Heliotrope
in Freiburg
which was the world’s first home to create more energy than it uses, as it physically rotates with the sun to maximize its solar intake. Disch then developed his concept, PlusEnergy
, simply making it a permanent goal for his buildings to produce more energy than they consume in order to sell the surplus solar energy back into the grid for profit.
Rolf Disch’s biggest venture was completed in 2004 with the 59 PlusEnergy home Solar Settlement
and the 60000 sq ft (5,574.2 m²). PlusEnergy Sun Ship
. In June 2009, Disch launched the 100% GmbH organization, with the aim to make Freiburg and its surrounding district the first 100% sustainable renewable energy
region in the world.
, Germany
in 1944. Disch first studied cabinetmaking in 1958 until later switching to masonry in 1961. It was not until 1962 however that Disch enrolled at the Structural Engineering School in Freiburg as a structural engineer. Disch knew he was passionate about building, although he found his true heart lied in architecture and after only one year, in 1963, he transferred as an architect to the University of Applied Sciences in Konstanz
, Germany. After his graduation in 1967 Disch worked as an architect for two years and finally established his own firm in 1969, Rolf Disch Solar Architecture
.
, Germany. As an educated environmentalist Disch saw this form of energy as destructive, while he knew that renewable energy
and clean energy could be harnessed for healthy sustainable development. The protesters in Wyhl succeeded and the Wyhl nuclear power plant was never actualized. In fact, the Wyhl protest was the first successful resistance to nuclear expansion in Germany, later to be followed by several others. With this success in mind, Disch applied his architectural knowledge to the advancement of renewable and sustainable energy systems in building. The “Disch Design” was a concept he worked on from 1985 to 1988 building solar powered vessels of all sorts. During this period, in 1987, Disch raced a self-designed solar powered automobile in the World Solar Challenge
, a race using only solar powered vehicles from Darwin
, Australia
to Adelaide
, Australia.
the first solar soccer team in Germany with photovoltaic panels to power their stadium. Together with Coach Volker Finke
, the Dreisam stadium
in Freiburg was the first soccer stadium in Germany to install solar power, again to be followed by several club teams in the future.
This pattern of pioneering swelled in 1995 when Disch revealed his groundbreaking Heliotrope
design, a house that physically rotates with the sun to maximize sunlight and natural heat use. The Heliotrope was the first building worldwide to have a positive energy balance, meaning it generates more energy than it consumes. Different types of renewable and sustainable energy concepts in addition to solar power are used in the original Heliotrope, built in Freiburg’s renowned Vauban
quarter. It was the first of three revolving wonders to be built in Germany.
In line with his Heliotrope design, Disch’s PlusEnergy
concept was born: create buildings that generate more energy than they use and sell the surplus of clean sustainable energy back into the power grid for profit. The key to the PlusEnergy concept was finding a solution not only for large expensive homes, like the Heliotrope, but rather also for the average sized and priced home. Thus in 2000 Disch contracted and began the development of a 50 PlusEnergy home housing community, the Solar Settlement. This PlusEnergy housing community was again revolutionary in that it was the first community in the world, in which every single home had a positive energy balance from which they received an annual profit from energy sales. With triumph the Solar Settlement drew many believers, tenants and funding which led to yet another successful PlusEnergy project.
Directly next to the Solar Settlement Disch built the Sun Ship. The Sun Ship is the commercial accompaniment to the Solar Settlement and it includes 60000 sq ft (5,574.2 m²). of commercial and retail space, while housing 9 PlusEnergy penthouses on its roof. Though the unique style of retail, commercial and residential integration is used throughout Europe, this exceptional structure meets the PlusEnergy standard with a positive energy balance due to its utilization of the most up-to-date building technology. The ingenuity of these projects has carried Rolf Disch and his architecture firm to the top of Germany’s solar totem poll and have demonstrated the perfect examples of modern sustainable development.
is a coined concept developed by Rolf Disch that indicates a structure’s extreme energy efficiency so that it holds a positive energy balance, actually producing more energy than it uses. With the completion of his private residence, the Heliotrope
, in 1994, Disch had created the first PlusEnergy house in the world. The sheer logic of a home that creates more energy than it consumes made perfect sense to Disch. His next goal in its development was thus the mass application of the concept to residential, commercial and retail space. As the concept further developed and gained financial backing as well, Disch built several more projects with PlusEnergy certifications. PlusEnergy is a simple concept that has been materialized in a technical design. “PlusEnergy is a fundamental environmental imperative,” Disch claims. Disch believes that passive building isn’t enough because passive homes still emit CO2 into the atmosphere – we can solar activate our homes!
is a one-of-a-kind design. The Heliotrope in Freiburg was the first building in the world to create more energy than it uses, of which is entirely renewable, emissions free and CO2 neutral. The structure physically rotates to track the sun, which allows it to harness the maximum natural sunlight and warmth possible. Several different energy generation modules are used in the building including a 603 sq ft (56 m²) dual-axis solar photovoltaic tracking panel
, a geothermal heat exchanger, a combined heat and power unit (CHP)
and solar-thermal
balcony railings to provide heat and warm water. These innovations in combination with the superior insulation of the residence allow the Heliotrope to produce anywhere between four to six times its energy usage depending on the time of year. The Heliotrope is also fitted with a grey-water cleansing system
and built-in natural waste composting.
At the same time Freiburg’s Heliotrope was built, Hansgrohe
contracted Rolf Disch Solar Architecture
to design and build another Heliotrope to be used as a visitor’s center and showroom in Offenburg
, Germany
. A third Heliotrope was then contracted and built in Hilpoltstein
, Bavaria
to be used as a technical dental laboratory. Disch’s unique design accommodates different utilization from private residences to laboratories, and nevertheless maintains the structure’s positive energy balance.
In addition to the original Heliotrope design, Rolf Disch has drawn plans for larger versions of the project to be built as a rotating hotel, which gives every guest a beautiful view, as well as administrative buildings and even an exhibition pavilion for the EXPO 2010
in Shanghai
.
, Rolf Disch wanted to apply his PlusEnergy
concept to mass residential production. His new design for the PlusEnergy house gave way to the development of the Solar Settlement, a 50 PlusEnergy home housing community. This residential complex won such awards as House of the Year (2002), Residential PV solar integration award (2002), Germany’s most beautiful housing community (2006). It is the first housing community in the world in which all the homes produce a positive energy balance and which is emissions-free and CO2 neutral. Built between 2000 and 2005 in the Vauban
quarter of Freiburg
the design of each home offers maximum energy efficiency and turns energy bills into energy income. The Solar Settlement has proved Disch’s vision of a “fundamental environmental imperative” as these homes have exhibited more than 8 years of full occupancy and each produced more than 4,000 Euros ($5,600) each year in solar energy profits.
Disch believes the image his community exhibits is equally as important as the eco-savings it brings. Disch says 50 homes that eliminate energy bills and feed clean sustainable renewable energy into the city’s grid is the imperative we need. They contribute towards the goal of sustainable ecological and economic development and show the entire world that communities like this are economical, beautiful, comfortable and in fact preferable. The tenants at the Solar Settlement do not claim to have made any compromises in their living situations but rather that they have both environmentally and economically improved. Made from Black Forest
timber, the wood interior and natural lighting provide for happily lit spaces and a natural flow from room to room.
As the first positive energy office building worldwide, the Sun Ship exhibits not only extreme efficiency but also a warm environment to work in. The office spaces are flanked on both the East and West sides entirely with windows, which maximizes natural lighting and employee views while it minimizes the energy wasted by artificial light. In addition to the office and retail space, two conference rooms, one large and one small, provide space for lectures, meetings and a showroom.
Disch always aims to create a community with combined uses for an ecological urban planning concept like traffic management – with wide, attractive walkways, bike routes and connections to public transportation. At the Solar Settlement for example, tenants and owners incorporate bike- and carsharing and the neighborhood has an extensive car-free zone with many public transportation connections. Disch also has incorporated community solutions for energy. For example, a biomass cogeneration unit is extremely expedient, which meets the (reduced) additional heating demands for his PlusEnergy homes.
Meanwhile Disch remains an active member of several national associations such as Eurosolar, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Sonnenenergie (German society for solar energy), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Nachhaltiges Bauen e.V.(German sustainable building council). His active participation in the local and national advancement of sustainable resources has influenced the market greatly and Disch continues to influence not only building but technology development, environmental politics and market sustainability.
2007-08 Japanese PEN-Magazine Creativity Award
2006 Germany's most beautiful housing community
2005 Wuppertal Energy and Environment Prize
2003 Global Energy Award
2002 European Solar Prize
2001 Photovoltaic Architecture Prize Baden-Württemberg
1997 Eco-manager of the Year
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Disch has dedicated particular focus to regional renewable and sustainable energy.
As head of his own architecture firm, Rolf Disch Solar Architecture
Rolf Disch Solar Architecture
Rolf Disch Solar Architecture, creators of the Heliotrope as well as several other visionary green building projects, is based in the solar city Freiburg, Germany. Led by solar pioneer Rolf Disch, who has been building with the sun for more than 40 years, this architecture office's prolific...
, Disch has led Germany as the solar pioneer in respect to residential, retail and commercial building and design. In 1994, Rolf Disch built the Heliotrope
Heliotrope (building)
Built originally in 1994 as the private residence and special project of Rolf Disch, the Heliotrope is a one-of-a-kind design. The Heliotrope in Freiburg was the first building in the world to create more energy than it uses, of which is entirely renewable, emissions free and CO2 neutral...
in Freiburg
Freiburg
Freiburg im Breisgau is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. In the extreme south-west of the country, it straddles the Dreisam river, at the foot of the Schlossberg. Historically, the city has acted as the hub of the Breisgau region on the western edge of the Black Forest in the Upper Rhine Plain...
which was the world’s first home to create more energy than it uses, as it physically rotates with the sun to maximize its solar intake. Disch then developed his concept, PlusEnergy
PlusEnergy
PlusEnergy is a coined concept developed by Rolf Disch that indicates a structure’s extreme energy efficiency so that it holds a positive energy balance, actually producing more energy than it uses. With the completion of his private residence, the Heliotrope, in 1994, Disch had created the first...
, simply making it a permanent goal for his buildings to produce more energy than they consume in order to sell the surplus solar energy back into the grid for profit.
Rolf Disch’s biggest venture was completed in 2004 with the 59 PlusEnergy home Solar Settlement
Solar Settlement
The Solar Settlement is a 59 PlusEnergy home housing community in Freiburg, Germany. Solar architect Rolf Disch wanted to apply his PlusEnergy concept, created originally with his Heliotrope home, to mass residential production...
and the 60000 sq ft (5,574.2 m²). PlusEnergy Sun Ship
Sun Ship (building)
The Sun Ship is a large integrated office/retail building designed by architect Rolf Disch and located in Freiburg directly next to the Solar Settlement by the same designer. It uses 60,000 sq. ft. for retail, commercial and residential space....
. In June 2009, Disch launched the 100% GmbH organization, with the aim to make Freiburg and its surrounding district the first 100% sustainable renewable energy
Renewable energy
Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...
region in the world.
Early years
Rolf Disch was born in the sunny south-western city of Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-WürttembergBaden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in 1944. Disch first studied cabinetmaking in 1958 until later switching to masonry in 1961. It was not until 1962 however that Disch enrolled at the Structural Engineering School in Freiburg as a structural engineer. Disch knew he was passionate about building, although he found his true heart lied in architecture and after only one year, in 1963, he transferred as an architect to the University of Applied Sciences in Konstanz
Konstanz
Konstanz is a university city with approximately 80,000 inhabitants located at the western end of Lake Constance in the south-west corner of Germany, bordering Switzerland. The city houses the University of Konstanz.-Location:...
, Germany. After his graduation in 1967 Disch worked as an architect for two years and finally established his own firm in 1969, Rolf Disch Solar Architecture
Rolf Disch Solar Architecture
Rolf Disch Solar Architecture, creators of the Heliotrope as well as several other visionary green building projects, is based in the solar city Freiburg, Germany. Led by solar pioneer Rolf Disch, who has been building with the sun for more than 40 years, this architecture office's prolific...
.
Activism
Rolf Disch’s environmentalism took its true form during the protest of building a nuclear power plant in WyhlWyhl
Wyhl is a municipality in the district of Emmendingen in Baden-Württemberg in southwestern Germany.It was known in the 1970s for its role in the anti-nuclear movement....
, Germany. As an educated environmentalist Disch saw this form of energy as destructive, while he knew that renewable energy
Renewable energy
Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...
and clean energy could be harnessed for healthy sustainable development. The protesters in Wyhl succeeded and the Wyhl nuclear power plant was never actualized. In fact, the Wyhl protest was the first successful resistance to nuclear expansion in Germany, later to be followed by several others. With this success in mind, Disch applied his architectural knowledge to the advancement of renewable and sustainable energy systems in building. The “Disch Design” was a concept he worked on from 1985 to 1988 building solar powered vessels of all sorts. During this period, in 1987, Disch raced a self-designed solar powered automobile in the World Solar Challenge
World Solar Challenge
The World Solar Challenge is a solar-powered car race which covers through the Australian Outback, from Darwin to Adelaide.The race attracts teams from around the world, most of which are fielded by universities or corporations although some are fielded by high schools...
, a race using only solar powered vehicles from Darwin
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
to Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, Australia.
Built with the Sun
With a focus on solar power use in his designs, Disch continued in 1993 with an initiative to make Sport-Club FreiburgSC Freiburg
Sport-Club Freiburg, commonly known as SC Freiburg, is a German association football club, based in the city of Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg. SC Freiburg has played in the Bundesliga, the top tier of German football, since their promotion in 2009...
the first solar soccer team in Germany with photovoltaic panels to power their stadium. Together with Coach Volker Finke
Volker Finke
Volker Finke is a German football manager and former player. He managed SC Freiburg from July 1991 to May 2007. This made him the longest-serving manager in the history of professional football in Germany...
, the Dreisam stadium
Dreisamstadion
Dreisamstadion is a multi-purpose stadium in Freiburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Sport-Club Freiburg. The stadium holds 24,000 spectators and was built in 1953...
in Freiburg was the first soccer stadium in Germany to install solar power, again to be followed by several club teams in the future.
This pattern of pioneering swelled in 1995 when Disch revealed his groundbreaking Heliotrope
Heliotrope (building)
Built originally in 1994 as the private residence and special project of Rolf Disch, the Heliotrope is a one-of-a-kind design. The Heliotrope in Freiburg was the first building in the world to create more energy than it uses, of which is entirely renewable, emissions free and CO2 neutral...
design, a house that physically rotates with the sun to maximize sunlight and natural heat use. The Heliotrope was the first building worldwide to have a positive energy balance, meaning it generates more energy than it consumes. Different types of renewable and sustainable energy concepts in addition to solar power are used in the original Heliotrope, built in Freiburg’s renowned Vauban
Vauban, Freiburg
Vauban is a new neighborhood of 5,000 inhabitants and 600 jobs 4 km to the south of the town center in Freiburg, Germany. It was built as "a sustainable model district" on the site of a former French military base, and is named after Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, the 17th century French...
quarter. It was the first of three revolving wonders to be built in Germany.
In line with his Heliotrope design, Disch’s PlusEnergy
PlusEnergy
PlusEnergy is a coined concept developed by Rolf Disch that indicates a structure’s extreme energy efficiency so that it holds a positive energy balance, actually producing more energy than it uses. With the completion of his private residence, the Heliotrope, in 1994, Disch had created the first...
concept was born: create buildings that generate more energy than they use and sell the surplus of clean sustainable energy back into the power grid for profit. The key to the PlusEnergy concept was finding a solution not only for large expensive homes, like the Heliotrope, but rather also for the average sized and priced home. Thus in 2000 Disch contracted and began the development of a 50 PlusEnergy home housing community, the Solar Settlement. This PlusEnergy housing community was again revolutionary in that it was the first community in the world, in which every single home had a positive energy balance from which they received an annual profit from energy sales. With triumph the Solar Settlement drew many believers, tenants and funding which led to yet another successful PlusEnergy project.
Directly next to the Solar Settlement Disch built the Sun Ship. The Sun Ship is the commercial accompaniment to the Solar Settlement and it includes 60000 sq ft (5,574.2 m²). of commercial and retail space, while housing 9 PlusEnergy penthouses on its roof. Though the unique style of retail, commercial and residential integration is used throughout Europe, this exceptional structure meets the PlusEnergy standard with a positive energy balance due to its utilization of the most up-to-date building technology. The ingenuity of these projects has carried Rolf Disch and his architecture firm to the top of Germany’s solar totem poll and have demonstrated the perfect examples of modern sustainable development.
PlusEnergy
PlusEnergyPlusEnergy
PlusEnergy is a coined concept developed by Rolf Disch that indicates a structure’s extreme energy efficiency so that it holds a positive energy balance, actually producing more energy than it uses. With the completion of his private residence, the Heliotrope, in 1994, Disch had created the first...
is a coined concept developed by Rolf Disch that indicates a structure’s extreme energy efficiency so that it holds a positive energy balance, actually producing more energy than it uses. With the completion of his private residence, the Heliotrope
Heliotrope (building)
Built originally in 1994 as the private residence and special project of Rolf Disch, the Heliotrope is a one-of-a-kind design. The Heliotrope in Freiburg was the first building in the world to create more energy than it uses, of which is entirely renewable, emissions free and CO2 neutral...
, in 1994, Disch had created the first PlusEnergy house in the world. The sheer logic of a home that creates more energy than it consumes made perfect sense to Disch. His next goal in its development was thus the mass application of the concept to residential, commercial and retail space. As the concept further developed and gained financial backing as well, Disch built several more projects with PlusEnergy certifications. PlusEnergy is a simple concept that has been materialized in a technical design. “PlusEnergy is a fundamental environmental imperative,” Disch claims. Disch believes that passive building isn’t enough because passive homes still emit CO2 into the atmosphere – we can solar activate our homes!
Heliotrope
Built originally in 1994 as the private residence and special project of Rolf Disch, the HeliotropeHeliotrope (building)
Built originally in 1994 as the private residence and special project of Rolf Disch, the Heliotrope is a one-of-a-kind design. The Heliotrope in Freiburg was the first building in the world to create more energy than it uses, of which is entirely renewable, emissions free and CO2 neutral...
is a one-of-a-kind design. The Heliotrope in Freiburg was the first building in the world to create more energy than it uses, of which is entirely renewable, emissions free and CO2 neutral. The structure physically rotates to track the sun, which allows it to harness the maximum natural sunlight and warmth possible. Several different energy generation modules are used in the building including a 603 sq ft (56 m²) dual-axis solar photovoltaic tracking panel
Solar tracker
A solar tracker is a generic term used to describe devices that orient various payloads toward the sun. Payloads can be photovoltaic panels, reflectors, lenses or other optical devices....
, a geothermal heat exchanger, a combined heat and power unit (CHP)
Cogeneration
Cogeneration is the use of a heat engine or a power station to simultaneously generate both electricity and useful heat....
and solar-thermal
Solar thermal energy
Solar thermal energy is a technology for harnessing solar energy for thermal energy . Solar thermal collectors are classified by the United States Energy Information Administration as low-, medium-, or high-temperature collectors. Low-temperature collectors are flat plates generally used to heat...
balcony railings to provide heat and warm water. These innovations in combination with the superior insulation of the residence allow the Heliotrope to produce anywhere between four to six times its energy usage depending on the time of year. The Heliotrope is also fitted with a grey-water cleansing system
Greywater
Greywater is wastewater generated from domestic activities such as laundry, dishwashing, and bathing, which can be recycled on-site for uses such as landscape irrigation and constructed wetlands...
and built-in natural waste composting.
At the same time Freiburg’s Heliotrope was built, Hansgrohe
Hansgrohe
'Hansgrohe is a German sanitary fittings manufacturer. It was founded by Hans Grohe in 1901, in Schiltach, Germany. Hansgrohe is currently the world's largest shower head and hand-held shower attachment supplier followed by competitors such as GROHE and ROHL...
contracted Rolf Disch Solar Architecture
Rolf Disch Solar Architecture
Rolf Disch Solar Architecture, creators of the Heliotrope as well as several other visionary green building projects, is based in the solar city Freiburg, Germany. Led by solar pioneer Rolf Disch, who has been building with the sun for more than 40 years, this architecture office's prolific...
to design and build another Heliotrope to be used as a visitor’s center and showroom in Offenburg
Offenburg
Offenburg is a city located in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With about 60,000 inhabitants, it is the largest city and the capital of the Ortenaukreis.Offenburg also houses University of Applied Sciences Offenburg...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. A third Heliotrope was then contracted and built in Hilpoltstein
Hilpoltstein
Hilpoltstein is a town in the district of Roth, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 10 km southeast of Roth bei Nürnberg and 30 km south of Nuremberg.-History:* Origins of the castle and the town date back to the 10th century....
, Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
to be used as a technical dental laboratory. Disch’s unique design accommodates different utilization from private residences to laboratories, and nevertheless maintains the structure’s positive energy balance.
In addition to the original Heliotrope design, Rolf Disch has drawn plans for larger versions of the project to be built as a rotating hotel, which gives every guest a beautiful view, as well as administrative buildings and even an exhibition pavilion for the EXPO 2010
Expo 2010
Expo 2010, officially Expo 2010 Shanghai China was held on both banks of the Huangpu River in the city of Shanghai, China, from May 1 to October 31, 2010. It was a major World Expo in the tradition of international fairs and expositions, the first since 1992...
in Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
.
Solar Settlement
With the success of the HeliotropeHeliotrope (building)
Built originally in 1994 as the private residence and special project of Rolf Disch, the Heliotrope is a one-of-a-kind design. The Heliotrope in Freiburg was the first building in the world to create more energy than it uses, of which is entirely renewable, emissions free and CO2 neutral...
, Rolf Disch wanted to apply his PlusEnergy
PlusEnergy
PlusEnergy is a coined concept developed by Rolf Disch that indicates a structure’s extreme energy efficiency so that it holds a positive energy balance, actually producing more energy than it uses. With the completion of his private residence, the Heliotrope, in 1994, Disch had created the first...
concept to mass residential production. His new design for the PlusEnergy house gave way to the development of the Solar Settlement, a 50 PlusEnergy home housing community. This residential complex won such awards as House of the Year (2002), Residential PV solar integration award (2002), Germany’s most beautiful housing community (2006). It is the first housing community in the world in which all the homes produce a positive energy balance and which is emissions-free and CO2 neutral. Built between 2000 and 2005 in the Vauban
Vauban, Freiburg
Vauban is a new neighborhood of 5,000 inhabitants and 600 jobs 4 km to the south of the town center in Freiburg, Germany. It was built as "a sustainable model district" on the site of a former French military base, and is named after Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, the 17th century French...
quarter of Freiburg
Freiburg
Freiburg im Breisgau is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. In the extreme south-west of the country, it straddles the Dreisam river, at the foot of the Schlossberg. Historically, the city has acted as the hub of the Breisgau region on the western edge of the Black Forest in the Upper Rhine Plain...
the design of each home offers maximum energy efficiency and turns energy bills into energy income. The Solar Settlement has proved Disch’s vision of a “fundamental environmental imperative” as these homes have exhibited more than 8 years of full occupancy and each produced more than 4,000 Euros ($5,600) each year in solar energy profits.
Disch believes the image his community exhibits is equally as important as the eco-savings it brings. Disch says 50 homes that eliminate energy bills and feed clean sustainable renewable energy into the city’s grid is the imperative we need. They contribute towards the goal of sustainable ecological and economic development and show the entire world that communities like this are economical, beautiful, comfortable and in fact preferable. The tenants at the Solar Settlement do not claim to have made any compromises in their living situations but rather that they have both environmentally and economically improved. Made from Black Forest
Black Forest
The Black Forest is a wooded mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Rhine valley to the west and south. The highest peak is the Feldberg with an elevation of 1,493 metres ....
timber, the wood interior and natural lighting provide for happily lit spaces and a natural flow from room to room.
Sun Ship
Disch also morphed his PlusEnergy design concept into a large integrated office/retail building. The Sun Ship, located directly next to the Solar Settlement in Freiburg, uses its 60000 sq ft (5,574.2 m²). for retail, commercial and residential space. The Sun Ship is home to a supermarket, convenience store and bakery-café on the first floor, offices and work spaces on the 2-4 floors and 9 penthouses on its roof. As a whole this building produces more energy than it consumes per year and utilizes the most up-to-date building technology. Some aspects that make this building particularly unique are its vacuum insulated walls, ventilation with 95% heat recovery, triple paned windows and its energy façade.As the first positive energy office building worldwide, the Sun Ship exhibits not only extreme efficiency but also a warm environment to work in. The office spaces are flanked on both the East and West sides entirely with windows, which maximizes natural lighting and employee views while it minimizes the energy wasted by artificial light. In addition to the office and retail space, two conference rooms, one large and one small, provide space for lectures, meetings and a showroom.
Community Planning
Community planning goes hand in hand with sustainable development and thus Rolf Disch dedicates much of his design and planning to the symbiosis of his projects' surroundings. A solar community generates identification and an enormous public image. Disch says he attracts great tenants, innovative undertakings and creative work places through his design.Disch always aims to create a community with combined uses for an ecological urban planning concept like traffic management – with wide, attractive walkways, bike routes and connections to public transportation. At the Solar Settlement for example, tenants and owners incorporate bike- and carsharing and the neighborhood has an extensive car-free zone with many public transportation connections. Disch also has incorporated community solutions for energy. For example, a biomass cogeneration unit is extremely expedient, which meets the (reduced) additional heating demands for his PlusEnergy homes.
Cultural influence
Rolf Disch has continued his environmental activism alongside his profession since the beginning. Aside from his contributions in design and community building sustainability, Disch has founded, partaken, and supported several environmental and energy interest groups. Disch cofounded three major energy organizations: Energie im Bürgerhand (Energy in citizens’ hands), 100% GmbH and FESA – Förderverein Energie- und Solaragentur Regio Freiburg (Development association for energy and solar businesses in the Freiburg region). Although these three associations aim to bring forth solar energy market growth Freiburg, 100% GmbH, founded in July, 2009, specifically seeks to make the Freiburg region a 100% sustainable renewable energy operating region. Disch’s contribution through these associations may be even more effective than his design concepts, as Freiburg is now the leading solar city in the leading solar country in the world.Meanwhile Disch remains an active member of several national associations such as Eurosolar, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Sonnenenergie (German society for solar energy), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Nachhaltiges Bauen e.V.(German sustainable building council). His active participation in the local and national advancement of sustainable resources has influenced the market greatly and Disch continues to influence not only building but technology development, environmental politics and market sustainability.
Awards
2008 German Sustainability Award2007-08 Japanese PEN-Magazine Creativity Award
2006 Germany's most beautiful housing community
2005 Wuppertal Energy and Environment Prize
2003 Global Energy Award
2002 European Solar Prize
European Solar Prize
The European Solar Prizes are awarded annually by the European Association for Renewable Energy EUROSOLAR located in Bonn, Germany. The Prizes are awarded since 1994 to individuals or organizations for the outstanding contribution to the utilization and applications of renewable energy in all its...
2001 Photovoltaic Architecture Prize Baden-Württemberg
1997 Eco-manager of the Year
Selected works
- HeliotropeHeliotrope (building)Built originally in 1994 as the private residence and special project of Rolf Disch, the Heliotrope is a one-of-a-kind design. The Heliotrope in Freiburg was the first building in the world to create more energy than it uses, of which is entirely renewable, emissions free and CO2 neutral...
, Vauban QuarterVauban, FreiburgVauban is a new neighborhood of 5,000 inhabitants and 600 jobs 4 km to the south of the town center in Freiburg, Germany. It was built as "a sustainable model district" on the site of a former French military base, and is named after Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, the 17th century French...
FreiburgFreiburgFreiburg im Breisgau is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. In the extreme south-west of the country, it straddles the Dreisam river, at the foot of the Schlossberg. Historically, the city has acted as the hub of the Breisgau region on the western edge of the Black Forest in the Upper Rhine Plain...
, 1994 - HeliotropeHeliotrope (building)Built originally in 1994 as the private residence and special project of Rolf Disch, the Heliotrope is a one-of-a-kind design. The Heliotrope in Freiburg was the first building in the world to create more energy than it uses, of which is entirely renewable, emissions free and CO2 neutral...
, OffenburgOffenburgOffenburg is a city located in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With about 60,000 inhabitants, it is the largest city and the capital of the Ortenaukreis.Offenburg also houses University of Applied Sciences Offenburg...
, 1994 - HeliotropeHeliotrope (building)Built originally in 1994 as the private residence and special project of Rolf Disch, the Heliotrope is a one-of-a-kind design. The Heliotrope in Freiburg was the first building in the world to create more energy than it uses, of which is entirely renewable, emissions free and CO2 neutral...
, HilpoltsteinHilpoltsteinHilpoltstein is a town in the district of Roth, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 10 km southeast of Roth bei Nürnberg and 30 km south of Nuremberg.-History:* Origins of the castle and the town date back to the 10th century....
, 1995 - Solar SettlementSolar SettlementThe Solar Settlement is a 59 PlusEnergy home housing community in Freiburg, Germany. Solar architect Rolf Disch wanted to apply his PlusEnergy concept, created originally with his Heliotrope home, to mass residential production...
, Vauban QuarterVauban, FreiburgVauban is a new neighborhood of 5,000 inhabitants and 600 jobs 4 km to the south of the town center in Freiburg, Germany. It was built as "a sustainable model district" on the site of a former French military base, and is named after Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, the 17th century French...
FreiburgFreiburgFreiburg im Breisgau is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. In the extreme south-west of the country, it straddles the Dreisam river, at the foot of the Schlossberg. Historically, the city has acted as the hub of the Breisgau region on the western edge of the Black Forest in the Upper Rhine Plain...
, 2002 - Sun ShipSun Ship (building)The Sun Ship is a large integrated office/retail building designed by architect Rolf Disch and located in Freiburg directly next to the Solar Settlement by the same designer. It uses 60,000 sq. ft. for retail, commercial and residential space....
, Vauban QuarterVauban, FreiburgVauban is a new neighborhood of 5,000 inhabitants and 600 jobs 4 km to the south of the town center in Freiburg, Germany. It was built as "a sustainable model district" on the site of a former French military base, and is named after Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, the 17th century French...
FreiburgFreiburgFreiburg im Breisgau is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. In the extreme south-west of the country, it straddles the Dreisam river, at the foot of the Schlossberg. Historically, the city has acted as the hub of the Breisgau region on the western edge of the Black Forest in the Upper Rhine Plain...
, 2004