The so-called Pink Tube (officially Circulation Tank 2 – UT2) is a flow circulation channel of the Institute for Hydraulic Engineering and Shipbuilding of the Technical University of Berlin. It forms an intersection between architecture, industrial construction, machinery, and scientific equipment.[2] The building is located on the lock island in the Landwehr Canal at Müller-Breslau-Straße in Berlin-Charlottenburg,[3] at the western tip of the Tiergarten. [4] The building has been under monument protection since 1995.[4]
The Pink Tube 2017: "A fat pink maggot crawling through a bright blue box on stilts." Deutschlandfunk [1]
In the first plans around 1900, the location for the Research Institute for Hydraulic Engineering and Shipbuilding was still planned on the edge of the imperial horse square. When Kaiser Wilhelm II. was presented with this plan, he thwarted it with a single stroke of the pen and noted above: "My riding place remains." The experimental facility was eventually built at the current site, on the island in the canal.[5] The research institution was founded as early as 1903.[6] At the instigation of Kaiser Wilhelm II, a building with internal flow channels was created.[4] From 1927 to 1930, the building underwent its first renovation. During this time, a hydraulic engineering laboratory was built on the south side, the so-called "South Hall," which overlooks the river with large arched windows. Finally, from 1961 to 1964, the expansion to the water circulation channel followed, which was completed from 1969 to 1974.[6] The building constructed from 1968 to 1974[6] was designed by architect Ludwig Leo,[7] with engineer Christian de Boes involved.[6] It was Leo who chose the distinctive pink color scheme.[7] The building was already placed under monument protection during his lifetime. The facility went into operation in 1975.[8]
Semi-circular brick building as the endpoint of the canal island
A semicircular brick building with a continuous band of windows juts into the Landwehr Canal at one end of the building.[6] The horizontally elongated brick buildings house the conventional tow channels.[4] Below are the rooms of the institute. Above them towers the circulation channel, which stands out due to its unusual architecture. The circulation pipe penetrates a laboratory building.[6] On the circulation channel, the measuring stations are arranged over five decks.[4] The cube and pipe are supported by a welded steel structure made of double-T beams, which stands on a 4.2 m high reinforced concrete base.[\
PU-Foam was used in the outer cladding of the tube and cube to insulate against temperature fluctuations. The 17 mm steel sheet skin of the tube was coated with a 4 cm thick layer of PU foam and simply painted over several times.[9] The pipe of the circulation channel was pink, while the box-shaped laboratory is clad in blue aluminum panels.[6] Inside, the decks resemble ship engine rooms, with floors and supports in dark green, ceilings and walls in white.[4] From two surrounding galleries, one has a view of the experimental field over two decks.[4]
Stylistically, the architecture of the 70s building belongs to post-war modernism and to the international avant-garde[3] – or, as Deutschlandfunk describes it: "[The circulation tank is] an icon of pop art-architecture, if such a category existed."[1] A postmodern playfulness was, however, far from the architect. A more fitting description is poetic rigor, as an expression of the clear building functions.[4] In the style of brutalism of the 50s, the building does not hide its function but prominently displays it outward.[1] The narrow plot was already completely built before Leo's expansion. Thus, the architect designed the circulation pipe vertically instead of horizontally.[4] This arrangement is today responsible for its appearance as an "urban sculpture".[6]
Peter Cook places the Rosa Tube on par with the Vienna Secession Building or the Darmstadt Wedding Tower. The Potsdam Einstein Tower is also mentioned as comparable.[4]
Damaged surface condition before renovation (2012)
Although the building had been under monument protection since 1995, it was in poor structural condition in the mid-2000s: chipped PU foam, plant growth, faded colors, rusted metal panels, weathered windows. Changed ownership conditions and an uncertain future in use pushed a restoration into uncertainty. The TU itself could no longer afford maintenance. In 2001/02, the board therefore decided to close the facility, with the condition that ongoing contracts be completed by summer 2007. Management and building maintenance were listed as vacant. Demolition seemed conceivable.[4]
In 2012, a feasibility study was conducted for basic restoration options. The focus of the work was on assessing the building substance, load-bearing structure, building services, building physics, fire protection, and pollutants. It had to be considered statically that the building construction and materials could also safely absorb the vibrations caused by the tests in the future.[2] From 2014 to 2017, the building was then restored in accordance with monument protection by architect HG Merz on behalf of the Wüstenrot Stiftung. [7] The office adb Ewerien and Obermann, specialized in monument preservation, was also involved.[9] The foundation has declared the building as a "worthy of protection building of the post-war period"[3] and the premise was to "preserve the structure as authentically as possible," said Philip Kurz, managing director of the Wüstenrot Foundation.[3]
The measures also included the restoration of the outer surfaces [3] as well as a roof sealing. [2] During the renovation, a lot of material research was possible [7] – and necessary. For parts of the renovation, basic research in restoration had to be conducted with the materials of the post-war modernism, for example for plastic and metal surfaces, or the pink spray-painted PU foam. [1] There were signs of delamination of the PU foam from the otherwise almost rust-free steel pipe. Despite the damage, the foam still fulfilled its insulation function. The foam was repaired in spots. A material-equivalent, but now environmentally friendly PU overspray provided a level top layer. For the protective coating of the foam surface, the original pink color tone was determined. Subsequently, an environmentally friendly paint was produced, based on a water-based acrylate dispersion. The paint layer was applied by hand using the Airless method, just like the original coating. [9]
The originally blue-coated sandwich panels of the laboratory hall had turned gray over the years. For precise analysis, the panels were tested using the Eddy current method. Condensation damage on the inner sides of the outer sheets had led to unexpectedly severe corrosion. Almost the entire facade received new sandwich panels. These were produced by the same company from the 1970s, Hoesch AG, in nearly identical form.[9]
The laboratory hall was treated restoratively inside, without removing signs of aging.[11] To preserve authenticity, the distinctive green inside was not painted over. New windows and fire protection measures were installed.[12] In the stairwell, an asbestos remediation was necessary.[2]
In addition, the technical circulation system along with the motors was overhauled, various auxiliary units, conveyor systems, ring pipe lines, and the movable floor. This refurbishment was carried out by TU Berlin and the departments of fluid system dynamics and dynamics of maritime systems.[2]
The restoration was accompanied by its own exhibition in Berlin, Stuttgart and London titled "Ludwig Leo Excerpt".[2] The total cost of the renovation measures amounted to 3.5 million euros. The most expensive item[7] was the statically and technically extremely complex scaffolding.[2] It had to hover on the facade because the building stands on the bank of the island.[7] The TU committed to continue using the building for research.[3] In summary: "The renovation will be both: a great gain for monument preservation and for research."[3]
The use of the facility was on shaky ground at the beginning of the 2000s. The progress in computer simulation called the usage into question. The technical utilization was reduced to a minimum. In 2007, only three employees were involved in the processing.[4] At times, it was even left empty.[12] Only through the renovation were the tracks reset and operations resumed.
Worldwide, there are 80 of these circulating tanks, four in Germany, of which this is the largest.[1] The building includes a closed circuit, the water circulation channel, on which a five-story test hall towers. The entire building has a height of 30.8 m, the pipe loop has a length of 120 m and holds 3,300 t of water.[5]
The Rosa Röhre is considered the largest circulating tank in the world, with a depth of up to 3 m, a width of 5 m, and a measuring length of 11 m. The water flow in the Rosa Röhre is generated by two ship diesel engines.[7] The 2,750 hp drives are housed in a separately accessible machine room with silencers.[4] The water can be accelerated to ten meters per second.[1] The conventional circulating tank can also be operated as a cavitation tank with a free water surface and adjustable bottom.[4]
Up to nine meter long ship models can be inserted into the tube via a lift.[1] The Technical University uses this for experiments with six to seven meter large ship models. Resistance or propulsion power is tested, for example.[7] The university uses the circulating tank not only for experiments with ship models but also for resistance, free sailing, propulsion, or maneuvering tests as well as for flow observations.[8] The company Boeing has experimented here with wing-in-ground-effect vehicles. The hydrodynamic movement of penguins was also studied here by scientists.[10] Simulations with wave are conducted in the 8 × 120 m large shallow water basin, with further tests in the 250 × 8 m towing channel.
The functional control panel dates back to the 1970s.[1] Modern measuring technology is connected via laptop.[1]
The Pink Tube is to serve as "a kind of Thinktank for shipping technology" (Christine Ahren, First Vice President of TU Berlin: Berliner Abendblatt[12]). School classes should also be allowed to visit the facility.[12]
- Ludwig Leo: Umlauftank 2. Hrsg.: Wüstenrot Stiftung. Spector Book, Leipzig 2020, ISBN 978-3-95905-371-6.
- Andreas Ruby: Bildlichkeit der Formen. Der Umlaufkanal der Versuchsanstalt für Wasserbau und Schiffbau von Ludwig Leo. In: Peter-Klaus Schuster: Das XX. Jahrhundert. Ein Jahrhundert der Kunst in Deutschland. Architektur in Berlin. Köln 1999, ISBN 3-87584-869-1
Commons: Experimental Institute for Hydraulic Engineering and Shipbuilding Berlin – Collection of images
- Report on the renovation measure of the Wüstenrot Foundation: Circulating Tank 2 by Ludwig Leo in Berlin
- Press release from TU-Berlin: “Pink Tube”: Monument preservation for a unique research site
- Entry at the State Monument Office Berlin: Testing Institute for Hydraulic Engineering and Shipbuilding (VWS)
52.51230313.333473Koordinaten: 52° 30′ 44,3″ N, 13° 20′ 0,5″ E
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