Smart Mobility Lab – Hoyerswerda, Germany

STRATUS at the Smart Mobility Lab at TU Dresden

100 × 33 metres, 3,300 square metres of fabric, 1.2 tonnes of fabric – a rather unusual curtain. Probably the largest in the world….

With the Smart Mobility Lab at Dresden University of Technology, a research centre for high technologies is being established in the Schwarzkollm industrial estate near Hoyerswerda in Lusatia, setting new standards for the mobility of the future.

By the end of 2026, a globally unique infrastructure will be established here to drive forward the research and testing of automated and connected road and air transport in a central location. Connected drones, robots and other automated, remote-controlled, flying and driving vehicles are set to form swarms and demonstrate how traffic flows can be organised more efficiently and in a way that conserves resources.

At the heart of the project is a 40.5-metre-high, column-free test hall with a floor area of 100 x 100 metres, where concepts can be researched and tested under real-world conditions. To enable a flexible response to the requirements of research operations, we were commissioned to develop a curtain system designed to partition the space as required.

The dimensions: 100 metres long. 33 metres high. 3,300 square metres of fabric. Around 1.2 tonnes of fabric.

Never before has a curtain of such dimensions been constructed; the height of 33 metres in particular places the highest demands on planning, structural engineering, materials and installation.

Preparations for the project began in early 2026. Under the leadership of our senior project manager, Dipl.-Ing Andreas Främke – arguably the world’s most experienced specialist in curtain systems and theatre technology – our STRATUS pleated curtain system was further developed.

Prototypes were initially produced in our workshops in Umkirch near Freiburg and in our sewing studios in Volgelsheim in French Alsace. These were subsequently tested several times under real-world conditions at the Freiburg City Theatre. The final curtain consists of four coordinated GerrietsSTRATUS systems.

Our SATIN CS in iron grey was chosen for the fabric. It has a very high absorption coefficient and is, of course, permanently flame-retardant. The system thus combines functional requirements with acoustic properties.

Then it was off to the construction site. On-site installation took three weeks. Our installation team fitted the STRATUS systems, commissioned the individual components and repeatedly tested the movement sequences until all of them were working perfectly.

Our system makes it possible to move the enormous textile surface in a controlled manner, thereby enabling a flexible response to the demands of research operations.

STRATUS – a curtain with a difference. Probably the largest in the world.