Next Saturday, 14 September 2024, the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences is offering three guided tours of the particularly energy-efficient ‘GeoBioLab’ on Building Culture Day. A variety of events will take place across the state on this Brandenburg action weekend: from guided tours of construction sites, village and city walks to open houses, exhibitions, art and culture. The GFZ is opening the doors of its most modern building and offering a look behind the scenes of interdisciplinary cutting-edge research: How do you investigate the workings of microbes underground? How can computer power heat laboratories? How does sustainable construction work?

The ‘Helmholtz Laboratory for Integrated Geoscientific and Biological Research’, as the GeoBioLab is officially called, was awarded the silver certificate for sustainable construction by Federal Building Minister Klara Geywitz in July 2024.

The award-winning building was opened in 2021. It offers space for around fifty researchers and houses a large computer room in the basement. Its waste heat could supply around 70 single-family homes with heat. At the GFZ on Telegrafenberg, the energy is used to heat the laboratory air of the GeoBioLab and neighbouring GFZ buildings.
 

The three guided tours (in German):

Time:               Saturday, 14 September 2024

                            12:00 pm - 1:30 pm - 3:00 pm

Place:               Albert Einstein Science Park, Telegrafenberg, Potsdam

                            GeoBioLab A71

Meeting point:     In front of the main building of the GFZ, building G (see map in picture gallery above)
 

12:00 p.m.: How do you investigate the activity of microbes underground? Everyday laboratory life in the GeoBioLab

During the guided tour at 12:00 pm, the head of the GFZ Geomicrobiology Section, Prof Dr Dirk Wagner, will show you everyday life in a geoscientific-biological laboratory and report on his research into microbial transformation processes in the subsurface.
 

13:30: How can computer power heat laboratories?

The guided tour at 1.30 p.m. sheds light on the innovative building technology of the GeoBioLab. The Technical Director of the GFZ, Gregor Ulrich, will show you on site how a large part of the required heat supply is provided by the waste heat from the servers and how surplus heat is fed into a cold local heating network through a clever combination of central server room and laboratories.

15:00: How does sustainable building work?

During the guided tour at 3.00 pm, GFZ Sustainable Building Coordinator Doreen Klemmstein will explain the assessment system used for public building projects using illustrative examples in the GeoBioLab. She will also provide insights into the underlying optimisation process in the interplay of technical, ecological, economic, socio-cultural and functional quality.

The Day of Building Culture

The Day of Building Culture is a joint project of the Brandenburg Chamber of Engineers and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Planning (MIL). The project is also supported by the Brandenburg Association of Towns and Municipalities. This year, it is taking place for the second time. This weekend of action offers a wide range of events throughout the state: from guided tours of building sites to village and town walks to open houses, exhibitions as well as art and culture. Under the motto ‘Building culture concerns us all’, the organisers want to focus on the importance and diversity of the built environment and inspire citizens to play an active role in shaping their surroundings.

(With material from: https://www.stgb-brandenburg.de/aktuelles/ansicht/veranstaltungshinweis-tag-der-baukultur-brandenburg-am-14-september-2024/)