The Alte Oberpostdirektion (Old Main Post Office) on Stephansplatz is one of the most impressive historic buildings in the city center. After the renovation and expansion of the middle part of the building by the project developer DWI Gruppe Hamburg, glass roof structures now connect the two building sides to form an impressive ensemble of "old" and "new".

The outer transparency of the listed building is impressively continued inside. Large glazing meets high functional requirements for fire protection and noise control. A transparent fire protection façade on the first floor as well as numerous fixed fire protection elements and fire protection doors enable safe escape and rescue routes from the central glass hall. Fire protection glazing made of Pilkington Pyrostop^® of fire resistance class EI 30, was installed in Forster fire protection systems.

When renovating the entire central building, the architects from LH Architekten office from Hamburg pursued the goal of preserving the overall character of the building with its historic façade and the central hall with its historic steel construction. Offices, meeting rooms and lounges are located adjacent to the glass hall on two floors. A premium fitness studio has moved into the first floor as a tenant behind a transparent façade. The Alte Oberpostdirektion now operates under the name Work-Life-Center and, with its new name, would like to express a balanced relationship between work and living environments.

Transparent fire protection

The generous interior façade made of glass provides a lot of light on the training area and enables the desired feel-good atmosphere in the fitness studio. Pilkington Pyrostop^® 30-17, a fire-resistant insulating glass for fire resistance class EI 30, in which the outer pane is a highly efficient soundproof laminated safety glass, was used as a fire protection separation between the studio and the hall. The fire protection system – consisting of fire protection glass and a mullion and transom construction system Forster Thermfix Vario – protects against fire, smoke and heat radiation for 30 minutes in accordance with the required fire resistance class and also meets particularly high noise protection requirements with noise attenuation of 46 dB. Since the building with the central hall is accessible by the public, these areas should be quiet and serve as a quiet zone.

“In addition, two escape and rescue doors with Pilkington Pyrostop^® 30-17 were built into the fire protection façade. In the event of a fire, these enable rapid rescue into the hall” reports Mr. Schotemeier, managing director of Schotemeier Ingenieur-Metallbau GmbH and processor of the fire protection façade. For efficient privacy protection in the studio, the lower area of the glazing was covered with a film.

The entrances to the other rental units and the escape doors to the escape routes from the building are located on the ground and first floors of the central hall. Fixed, transparent fire protection elements with a view of the adjoining office and meeting rooms as well as rental entrance doors define the fire and smoke zones behind them. In accordance with the requirements, fire-resistant glazing of fire resistance class EI 30 with Pilkington Pyrostop^® 30-17 was also installed in the Forster Fuego Light system. The selected glass structure also ensures optimal sound insulation here.

“I would like to emphasize the many years of good cooperation with the DWI. We also worked well with the companies involved, in particular with Pilkington Deutschland AG, as usual,” is how Mr Schotemeier sums up the successful implementation of the fire protection concept in the work-life center.

Photography: © Fotografie Dorfmüller Klier