from the Eßlinger Zeitung of 24 February 2015
ESSLINGEN: Ecoinn Hotel builds Germany’s most ecological events venue – opening planned for May
By Alexander Maier
The bar is set high as the Esslingen Ecoinn Hotel opens a new annex on Ritterstraße: the conference venue is called Econvent, and it is to become “the most ecological events venue in Germany”. The operators have spent two and a half years refining their concept and putting it into practice – now the project is nearing completion: the opening is to be celebrated at the beginning of May. The Econvent fits perfectly with the profile of the hotel, which set out in 2009 to combine hospitality and environmental awareness in a historic setting. Six rooms will be available in the new events venue on the Rossneckar for conferences and celebrations of all kinds, with the highest ecological standards applying.
Environmentally aware and social
The Ecoinn on Kanalstraße presents itself as “ecological, economic and social”: the rooms are furnished with materials that are harmless from a building-biology perspective. The underfloor heating is fed by heat exchangers that extract heat from the water of the Neckar canals. And a hydroelectric plant produces two and a half times as much electricity as the hotel needs – the rest is fed into the grid. The social profile matches the ecological one: the Ecoinn is run by the Stuttgart social enterprise HoGa Tourist, which specifically employs staff who find it difficult to get a job on the regular labour market.
In addition to individual travellers, organisers of smaller conferences and seminars also use the Ecoinn. “Many companies today attach great importance to holding their events in a venue that emphasises ecological thinking,” says Ecoinn manager Thomas Puchan. So-called “green meetings”, events with a positive environmental balance, are on the rise. That is not surprising, as many companies have entire departments dedicated to environmental protection issues. “So it is clear that their staff look closely at whether their seminar takes place in the right setting,” Puchan explains.
Until now, the hotel on Esslingen’s university campus was able to offer smaller seminars under its own roof, but the options were limited. Now, with the Econvent on Ritterstraße, it is breaking new ground: six rooms are to be available there for “green meetings” and celebrations – depending on the event, for around 20 to 160 people. “We don’t want to compete with the large congresses at the Neckar Forum,” says Thomas Puchan, under whose management the Econvent will be run. “But we are sure that there is demand in the region for events of the size we can offer in the new venue.”
Modern technology in a historic building
The Ecoinn has been pursuing the new project for two and a half years, and had actually wanted to open the new events venue long ago. “But it is not easy to reconcile all the requirements in a historic building,” Thomas Puchan has learned more than once. “In addition to our own wishes, there are the requirements of monument protection, energy-efficient renovation and fire protection, which are not always easy to reconcile with each other.” In Esslingen architect Albrecht Scherfer, they found an experienced planner who had already brought the Ecoinn building on Kanalstraße up to new-build standard in structure and energy efficiency. Now he has taken on the next challenge with the building at Ritterstraße 16, which was acquired by the ProHumanitate Foundation in Stuttgart.
The new Econvent is currently being renovated in keeping with its listed status – defining features such as the historic doors, the classic staircase and the stucco on the ceilings are being restored. And as with the Ecoinn, high energy standards also apply to the new events venue: the building will be fitted throughout with LED lighting, ecological air conditioning in four of the six rooms and modern event technology. The electricity required comes from the Ecoinn’s hydroelectric plant, which produces enough to supply both buildings more than adequately. And, as at the hotel, the necessary heat is obtained from the water of the Neckar canal. “This means you can stay overnight and hold meetings with us close to the town centre and CO2-free,” promises Puchan, who is sure that the Ecoinn and Econvent will benefit from each other.
A look at the building’s history
The building at Ritterstraße 16, where the Ecoinn wants to open its new Econvent conference centre in May, has a long and eventful history. The two-storey rendered building as it appears today essentially dates back to the slaughterhouse built in the 18th century. Originally, in keeping with its purpose, the building between the Rossneckar and the medieval town wall had only one storey – around 1871 it was extended upwards and remodelled for the municipal weights and measures office, according to the City of Esslingen’s Monument Topography published in 2009. It also states: “Characteristic of a Württemberg municipal building of the Gründerzeit is the tradition-oriented continuation of the late classicist formal language (including a symmetrical façade, discreetly framed upright rectangular windows, an oculus in the gable and a gable roof projecting far out on profiled brackets).” In 1894, the women’s vocational school moved into Ritterstraße 16; its task was to train young women as assistants for the textile industry and to prepare them for their role as housewife and mother, as predetermined by the society of the time. The building was then used by various departments of the Esslingen municipal administration until a few years ago.