pink noise

IBK Museum / Hetzerhalle

Beginning of Modern Timber Construction

02 / 2023 - ongoing

pink noise

IBK Museum / Hetzerhalle

Beginning of Modern Timber Construction

The Hetzer Hall project explores the origins of modern timber construction through an immersive digital reconstruction. Based on historical documentation and archival material, we developed a detailed 3D model that allows visitors to experience the pioneering structure in its original spatial context. Rather than presenting the building as a static artifact, the VR application communicates its historical significance through direct exploration and interaction. By recreating a structure that is no longer fully accessible today, the project makes a key chapter in the history of engineering and timber construction tangible for contemporary audiences.

historical deep dive

The Hetzer Halls in Weimar represent a pivotal moment in the development of modern timber engineering. Closely associated with the work of German engineer and entrepreneur Otto Hetzer, the halls demonstrate the potential of glued laminated timber, a construction method he patented in 1906.

By bonding thin timber boards into large structural members, Hetzer made it possible to create lightweight yet durable structures capable of spanning unprecedented distances. This innovation fundamentally transformed timber construction and laid the foundation for contemporary engineered wood systems used worldwide today.The Weimar halls served not only as industrial buildings but also as full-scale demonstrations of a revolutionary structural concept.

For more than a century, they stood as rare witnesses to the origins of modern timber architecture until the collapse of the Große Hetzerhalle in 2021, marking the loss of an important chapter in engineering history.