Sturmfabrik. Winner of the Marita Schnepper Award 2025. The jury reached a tie. This entry is awarded 1.250 €.
The Sturmfabrik is a selfregulated neighborhood center based on the principles of a solar chimney. A combination of three solar towers is used to cool and heat the building. As a result ventilation heat losses in winter can be reduced by 93%, shortening a typical heating period by three months.
Jury statements:
Pro:
“The Storm Factory is very innovative in comparison. The solar chimney is an excellent idea, likely inspired by historical buildings in Arab countries. Maybe consider generating electricity within the chimney using micro-turbines.
“For a bachelor’s thesis, the exploration of building physics principles and natural strategies for reducing technical building services is very compelling. Despite the challenging subject matter, the concepts translate into clear architectural terms. The project demonstrates an independent approach and a well-founded connection between research and design.
Con:
“It’s a somewhat cumbersome solution for a building that isn’t particularly eco-friendly to begin with. In my opinion, simple passive houses achieve better results with less effort these days.
“At first its the most interesting design but this project claims to reduce heating by 93% using solar chimneys. Extraordinary claim. Zero evidence. I looked up Munich’s winter climate myself. Three things immediately don’t add up
Temperature: They design for -4°C averages. Munich gets -12°C for days at a time. Design for reality, not averages.
Sun: December gives you 1.1 kWh/m² per day—17% of summer sun, plus 64% cloud cover. Vertical towers at 18° winter sun angle? Show us the solar diagrams. Show us how this actually works. Munich might not be the right place for this.
Wind: Prevailing westerly winds at 10-12 km/h will reverse the tower airflow, pushing cold air into the building most winter days. That’s physics. We know wind towers can be used for cooling. Will this instead start pushing cold wind in the exposed windows?
Architects can’t afford to design for average temperatures. Consider the coldest nights when families need their homes to work.
Sustainability isn’t a style. It’s measurable performance. This project raises many questions to unproven claims.
Maybe this could work. Maybe not. But until there’s evidence, thermal modeling, precedent studies, worst-case testing, it’s speculation, not architecture.
See the full project description