experimenta Heilbronn

One of Germany’s most sustainable buildings has stood on an island in the Neckar since 2019. Experimenta Heilbronn is the largest science center in Germany, offering worlds of knowledge and experience across 25,000 square meters and attracting thousands of visitors every year. 

It is located on the edge of the city center, and visitors of all generations can explore worlds of discovery, experience, and research. A special feature of experimenta is the Science Dome, which is a combination of a planetarium, 3D cinema, and experimental theater. It has a spherically curved screen and an auditorium that can be rotated 180 degrees, as well as an observatory.  

All of this is housed in an architecturally unusual new five-story building, complemented by the redesigned existing building. The DGNB has also awarded the new building the highest certificates in Platinum and Diamond. In short: experimenta Heilbronn is a building of superlatives!  

Drees & Sommer supported the four-year construction project, assuming overall responsibility for management, planning, and construction supervision and ensuring feasibility. The architects and partners in the project were Sauerbruch Hutton Berlin for the new building and studioinges Berlin for the existing building. The many advantages meant that Drees & Sommer managed the new experimenta building digitally and relied on BIM and fully integrated 3D planning from the outset.  

The Drees & Sommer team digitally captured the complex building in the BIM model and broke it down into planning modules. The experts optimized the façade construction so that around 50 façade elements were left over from the initial 200.