"Neue alte" Berechnungsmethoden am Beispiel des historischen Bergheimer Bades in Heidelberg

"New old" calculation methods on the example of the historical Bergheimer Bath in Heidelberg

Empty and unused for many years, the former Bergheim bath in Heidelberg led an unworthy existence. No one was willing to take care of it or had a good idea of how it could be put to good use. Often the main problem of historical buildings is the fact that no use is found which creates a financial incentive for investors. Fortunately, in this building it was different and there was an astute businessman, highly attached to the town of Heidelberg, who had the vision, that there was the opportunity to create something new out of the building where on the one hand, the cultural heritage could be saved and at the same time a profitable business could arise. This man was the single one who made an offer to a Europe-wide tender of Heidelberg and received the award in October 2008. Together with the renowned Heidelberg architects SSV and the experienced in working with historic buildings engineering office for structural engineering Professor Pfeifer und Partner, headquartered in Darmstadt, the building in the years 2010-2012 has been thoroughly renovated and partly rebuilt by the addition of two new buildings and an underground parking, well inserted into the entire ensemble and converted into a market center with hotel and offices. Particular attention was paid to the unchanged preservation of the historical structures, especially visible in the vault structures of the former men's and women's baths. Except for a brief description of the new buildings, this paper focuses on the static of the vault.