Bollinger+Grohmann

T o p p i n g O u t Last week, the topping-out ceremony took place for Berlin’s third timber modular school (HOCOMP) in the district of Lichtenberg. The HOCOMP building program (architecture: NKBAK) includes three types: primary school, integrated secondary school, and sports hall. The room modules are produced in Berlin-Köpenick by general contractor Kaufmann Bausysteme. The entire process usually takes only 13 months, from the completion of the ground slab to the handover of the school and sports hall. Currently, three #schools from this program are under #construction, with four more in planning. We are responsible for structural engineering and building physics for all HOCOMP schools. #structuralengineering #buildingphysics #bollingergrohmann #germany #timber #modular

S c h o o l One year after its completion, we return to the Claudine Hermann school in Arpajon-Ollainville, #France, this time through a video that captures how the project has taken shape in daily use. Designed by SAM Architecture, with the support of our #structural #engineering #expertise, the school complex brings natural light into its interior streets and extends classrooms onto outdoor terraces, creating a calm, functional environment open to both the neighbourhood and #nature. Inspired by Hans Scharoun’s post-war #schools in Germany, it carries forward an architectural vision rooted in democracy and openness.

C o n s t r u c t i o n P r o g r e s s Barn Again is taking shape at Gl. Strand, #Copenhagen! Built from recycled and reusable materials, the pavilion now reveals its structure and textures on site. Here are a few glimpses of the construction before its inauguration on 18 September for the Copenhagen Architecture Biennial opening party. To the event's website: https://www.cafx.dk/ Photos: Tom Svilans #denmark #bollingergrohmann #engineering #architecture #biennal #opening

P r o j e c t The renovation of Westmalle's Brewery, designed by LAVA architecten, involved creating a sustainable and future-proof site. The historic 1930s brewery had become a fragmented complex, and we provided structural solutions to reorganise the buildings while respecting their heritage. A key part of the project is converting the original Art Deco brewery into modern offices, laboratories, and workspaces, carefully phased to keep production running smoothly. The new master plan creates a cohesive, efficient, and resilient brewery site aligned with the abbey’s traditions and sustainability goals. #brewery #abbey #westmalle #structural #engineering

W i n n e r The Den Bell project in #Antwerp, designed by OMGEVING, won the 2025 LOOP Design Awards. With our support as structural engineers and the contribution of other partners, it transforms a hard, triangular courtyard above an underground car park into a green, vibrant public space. The design increases greenery by more than 30 %, adding new trees, shrubs, perennials, bulbs, and climbers. A seven-metre-high pergola provides shade and structure. Playful tree slabs and wooden posts invite interaction, and a new multi-sports field doubles as an event zone. #Sustainability is central to the project: roofs have been converted into extensive, biodiverse green roofs that cool the surroundings and manage rainwater. An integrated water strategy ensures rain is collected, stored, and reused for irrigation. Article: https://lnkd.in/eXQY7D7f

F i n a l i s t  We are proud to announce the Expo Cultural Park Greenhouse Garden in Shanghai has been shortlisted for the 2025 Structural Awards by The Institution of Structural Engineers. Designed by Delugan Meissl Associated Architects (DMAA), the Greenhouse integrates an existing industrial steel hall structure with lightweight, aluminium cable-net pavilions, creating the fusion of old and new. Our team was responsible for both the structural and façade engineering, utilising innovative design strategies. The slender frameworks, along with circular roof openings, maximise sunlight while ensuring structural integrity. The Structural Awards recognise the best engineering projects worldwide, celebrating sustainability, innovation, social impact, and ingenuity. The judges praised it as “a confident blend of adaptive reuse, expressive engineering, and thoughtful design.” The winners will be announced on 14 November at The Brewery in London. Learn more: https://shorturl.at/aIx1U Photo: © CreatAR #IStructE #structuralawards2025 #engineeringexcellence #structuralengineering #sustainability #Architecture

S u m m i t Our Design Technology Group will speak at Speckle Con 2025 in London in November. Make sure to register to attend our talk ‘Hitchhiking Through Collaboration Multiverse’. When: 7 November 2025, 9 AM - 6 PM Where: CodeNode 10 South Place London EC2M 7EB, United Kingdom For more info and tickets: https://lnkd.in/dsmei6_G #speckle #specklecon2025 #earlybird #bim #speckleintelligence

S t o n e  Located in Marseille’s emerging Les Fabriques eco-neighbourhood, this new school complex combines a nursery, a primary school, and staff housing within a compact urban site. Cyclopean stone blocks from the Beaulieu quarry, coupled with minimal concrete, are used in the structure and façades, recalling both the strength of noble architecture and the natural relief of the Calanques. At Bollinger+Grohmann, we supported the architect’s BRENAC & GONZALEZ & ASSOCIES team, providing our expertise as structural engineers. Step into the video series on their YouTube channel to learn more about the project: https://lnkd.in/ebsGzNJ6 #stone #blocks #structure #façade #engineering #architecture #france #marseille #education #school

B i e n n a l  For the first edition of the Copenhagen Architecture Biennial, Tom Svilans x THISS Studio present Barn Again, winner of the Biennial’s Slow Pavilions open call.   Designed and built specifically for the exhibition, the #pavilion is constructed from #recycled and #reusable materials, offering a tangible response to this year’s theme, Slow Down. Barn Again imagines how a great deceleration of global systems might be experienced locally through space, material, and sound. The project reflects a vision of 21st-century architecture as one shaped by slowness: not asking whether we must slow down, but how this transformation will arrive.   We worked alongside the architect’s team, contributing our #engineering expertise to bring the pavilion from concept to construction.   The pavilion will be inaugurated on 18 September at Gl. Strand and will remain a central gathering place throughout the #Copenhagen #Architecture #Biennial, which will run until 19 October 2025. Stay tuned for construction progress photos! To the biennal's website: https://lnkd.in/dBBNcbFA Photo credit: all rights to www.cafx.dk

A r t i c l e We are featured on the cover of the latest Infosteel Magazine (Issue 81, Q2–2025). This edition includes a dedicated article on our project, The Smart Manufacturing Campus in Genk, Belgium (pages 18-21). Co-authored by Jens Debroeyer of B+G Brussels and Joris De Greef of XDGA, the publication offers a closer look at the project’s key design and technical aspects, reflecting current architectural and engineering developments in steel design. You can access the full issue here: https://lnkd.in/egDtZgCc #infosteel #steel #engineering #magazine