Competition Institute of the Fire Department NRW

Münster

The main site of the IdF derives its quality from its valuable tree population, but above all from its size. The existing building structure that dominates today does not reveal this size. We want to make this open space tangible as a landscape space for the people who will be trained here over several weeks. It should be a campus that allows easy orientation and where it is easy to get into conversation with others. It should allow privacy without being a barracks and at the same time be open to the public without ignoring security requirements. We are preserving all the trees and buildings whose appearance can enrich the character of the future site.

The urban figure follows the orientation of the site, the trees and the development. The gate is located at the S/E corner with a good view of the entrance, the shuttle stop, the pedestrian access, the underground parking garage entrance, the campus with its open spaces and the foyer/reception with hotel.

On the opposite side of the garden, the teaching rooms are lined up next to each other in three pavilions - with inner courtyards for differentiated lighting, a three-storey gallery facing the campus - transitory areas for vertical and horizontal access, informal areas for breaks and exchanges, partly integrated as loggias with storey-high segmental doors (glass panels) that open the gallery to the garden. The pavilion group ends with a single-storey, approx. 7.0 m high building, the restaurant. It is oriented both outwards, towards the gastronomic public, and inwards, towards the event space and the campus.

The entire pavilion group with gallery is aligned parallel to the building edges of lecture hall building C and is thus positioned a few degrees off-center to the other buildings. The interior garden thus opens up as an inviting gesture from Wolbecker Strasse towards the canal.

Material + Construction

All new buildings are built in timber construction - hotels made of room modules, all other buildings as skeleton construction with timber frame facades, glass facades or segmental doors (gallery, restaurant) for optimal open space connection and ventilation.

Open space concept

The basic urban design figure is interpreted flexibly and according to the situation: While a striking group of existing trees in the south forms the address, an urban joint of thinned-out trees in the north creates a visual axis to the canal. There is also a beer garden on this axis, which is also accessible to visitors and the neighborhood. The resulting diagonal promenade divides the campus into a meadow and a water area of the “Feuersee”. The latter is a retention basin as well as a connecting, calming and stimulating landscape element. The identity-forming trees on the large meadows will be preserved and their function as park space will be strengthened by a variety of new planting. A “piazza” will be created between the restaurant and the lecture hall building (C) as a central event location.

HotelMixedPublicWood

Data

Competition

2020

Address

Wolbecker Str. 23
48155 Münster
Deutschland

Organizer

Institute of the Fire Department NRW
Münster

Related projects

Competition Kaunas Center

Kaunas, Litauen

The M.K. Čiurlionis Concert Centre is located on the southern bank of the Nemunas River. The landscape is transformed by terraces with the amphitheater to the west and the stage positioned between the Nemunas River and the concert center. It offers the best outdoor atmosphere with a unique view of the historic city of Kaunas on the opposite side of the river – especially at sunset. The site can be accessed individually via the existing or future bridge, or by public transport. Upon arrival at a drop-off zone, visitors are welcomed onto an elevated Bellevue terrace, which surrounds the south and west sides of the building and leads to a main entrance. A second entrance is located along the riverbank.

Outdoor Space

Arrival is planned on the opposite sides of the building: the main entrance and drop-off zone via a generous flight of stairs leading to the Bellevue. The side entrance on the river side is connected to the internal canyon. The landscape is transformed into terraces – similar to the shape of ice floes – as depicted by Caspar David Friedrich. The terraces consist of grass steps and concrete steps, loosely combined in arrangement, like logs washed ashore by the river. The amphitheater is embedded into these terraces. We recommend no roofing for this open-air theater.

The building is a rock. Lost from the river, resting on its southern bank. A split rock, unexpectedly cut vertically into two volumes – an artificial canyon. Two halves of a rock – a symbol of the city of Kaunas, divided by the Nemunas River. Every visitor is invited to explore platforms, hidden places, the best views, materials, and acoustics. We propose sharply contrasting tactile qualities inside and out. The exterior features smooth, light, black-coated concrete panels – a refined appearance. Inside, it is smooth, with muted sound, warm colors (all shades of red), and sound-altering fabrics. We see the use of fabrics as a nod to Kaunas' rich tradition of textile art and culture. The lobby on the ground floor has a terrazzo floor made of pebbles from the Nemunas River. This lobby functions like an internal Bellevue, offering views of the river, the city, the amphitheater, and the inner canyon. It is a place for strolling, discovering, drinking, immersing oneself in the rock, and realizing that there is something mysterious here. On the right, the walls are covered with soft fabrics, while on the left, the hard, rough, textured surface of the Black Box dominates the lobby ceiling. Stunning views across all levels create a personal experience. Therefore, we offer various ways to traverse the building.

Concert Halls

The large concert hall is planned as a compact volume with perfect geometric proportions, similar to the historic Viennese concert hall. The structure will be made of concrete, with all surfaces in the main hall clad in wood. The surface remains an open pigmented structure to control sound. The color will be printed on wooden panels, following the motifs of the lobby and the warmth of red tones. The main hall and balconies are connected to several bar and lounge areas surrounding a central atrium. It offers views of the riverside, Kaunas, and the cultural island in the Nemunas River. A clearly defined transition area on the ground floor separates the main hall's audience from other visitors.

Sustainability

The design of the M.K. Čiurlionis Concert Centre offers space efficiency within a compact volume. The flexibility of individual rooms has been carefully planned to ensure the center’s longevity. Panels made of concrete, steel, and solid wood form a robust and high-performance thermal envelope, ensuring a comfortable climate with minimal energy consumption. The foyer, covered by a glass roof, brings natural daylight into the lower floors and enables natural ventilation. Sensor-based LEDs combined with a photovoltaic grid above the concert hall ensure minimal electricity consumption. To further enhance the building’s sustainable performance, a cross-ventilation system heats and cools the building via a pump-driven energy exchange system, utilizing geothermal heating and cold water from the Nemunas River, pending approval.

ConcretePublic

Data

Competition

2017

Address

H. ir O. Minkovskių g
46213 Kaunas, Lithuania

Awarding Authority

Public Institution of Kaunas Architecture and Urban Experts Council (KAUEC)

Related projects

Competition Renovation + New Construction Korbach Town hall

Korbach

The new town hall is designed as an urban repair project in line with the principles of Camillo Sitte's classical urban architecture. At the center of all efforts is the recovery of a beautiful and versatile urban space with feel-good qualities. First and foremost, this includes the new town hall market with its large open staircase and fountain. The entire width of this staircase in front of the new town hall is a promenade, concert and theater square, gallery and market. The town hall itself is designed as an ensemble of different building blocks that enter into a dialog with each other.

At the structural center is a row of three gabled houses, as a closed square wall to the town hall market. The starting point is the historic stone town hall building. This is followed by a glass passageway as a central entrance foyer and exhibition hall. The northern end is formed by the building with the large council chamber on the upper floor and various public municipal facilities on the first floor. At the rear of the new row of town halls, the old Rathausgasse will be revived as a narrow stairway with a long transverse building block. Most of the technical departments of the town hall are located here. The building is connected to the hall and the main entrance by a glass passerelle leading across Rathausgasse on the upper floor.

The existing buildings on Stechbahn and Prof. Kümmel Strasse will be renovated accordingly and used for the necessary departments. Together with the necessary parking areas, the new town hall ensemble forms a small, coherent quarter in the city. A redensification (to the detriment of open parking spaces) with narrow, tall townhouses along the 'temple' is conceivable.

The architecturally formal character of the new town hall buildings with their pitched roofs is intended to make us forget the architectural sins of the recent past in this town, which is characterized by historic half-timbered buildings. However, this is by no means intended to be a backward-looking retro design language. Rather, the new buildings are intended to take up and continue the character of the medieval half-timbered constructions in a consistently modern architectural language.

In contrast to the stone town hall, the new buildings and all planned additions to the existing buildings are to be constructed in wood, steel and glass. Reduction, order and clarity combined with transparency and openness are the design objectives.

In this context, existing and future smart technologies can also be used in the building structure as well as for energy supply and networking without disrupting the overall appearance.

The new Korbach town hall aims to bring the town into the 21st century without any sensational formal experiments and to create a proud and identity-forming landmark for its residents.

Public

Data

Competition

2016

Address

Prof.-Kümmell-Straße
34497 Korbach

Awarding Authority

District and Hanseatic city Korbach

Related projects

Competition Sports Hall Karpfenteich Primary School

Berlin

The urban environment of the Karpfenteich Elementary School is relatively small-scale. The area is characterized by two- to three-story, detached houses with front gardens and a set-back from the street. The school design from the 1960s reflects this environment by placing the volume deeper into the plot, limiting the number of stories, and creating an open space in front of the building for access—an expansive gesture.

We aim to preserve this gesture and therefore position the new building at the site of the existing single-field sports hall. We align with the scale of the surroundings and place significant parts of the building program underground. What remains visible is a single-story pavilion, which resembles a greenhouse more than a sports hall due to its transparent and opaque facades.

The hall area, playing fields, and all ancillary rooms are located in the basement. The upper half of the hall volume is visible above ground—designed for natural light and with opportunities to look in and through. A small entrance building stands separately next to the pavilion, constructed with the same materials and housing stairs and an elevator. The entire building is barrier-free throughout. The program areas are implemented in detail, and the street-facing end features a taller structure with chimneys for ventilation and exhaust.

Construction + Load-Bearing System

All exterior wall components below ground are made of reinforced concrete. Due to the hydrological conditions, a bathtub design is not necessary. Therefore, high insulation is provided along with protection against seepage. The roof area above the ancillary rooms will be designed as walkable.

The hall roof will be constructed from pre-stressed steel profiles. This allows for a minimal structural height (reduced heated volume) with a simple construction and low construction costs. Small BSH (laminated veneer lumber) beams are placed at intervals of 67.5 cm in the longitudinal direction, providing support for perforated plywood panels (sound absorption) as the substructure for the roof assembly. Therefore, the underside of the roof is primarily wooden. Wood is also used as a defining surface on the walls of the lowered hall area (covering for concrete walls). The roof surface will be extensively greened and will not have any openings. Natural lighting for the hall is ensured through the facade.

Supports are added as V-shaped columns along the longitudinal sides, placed on top of the concrete walls (longitudinal bracing).

Building Envelope: Roof + Facade

The longitudinal facades will be constructed from multi-chamber sandwich panels. These panels are held at the base and top points and interlocked longitudinally with tongue and groove. The panels are opaque, creating a linear, light-permeable skin without glare in the interior of the hall—abstract and detailed. The gable facades will be glazed transparently, allowing views through the building to the open spaces behind or down onto the playing area. Horizontal pipes mounted on projecting elements provide sun protection on the gable sides. The roof will be extensively greened (5th facade) and will remain without penetrations. All underground envelope parts will be built as robust reinforced concrete constructions with high insulation.

Sustainability

Avoid energy expenditure – Optimize energy conversion – Intelligently control energy usage

The building is compact. The air-exposed surfaces are minimized, thus reducing transmission heat losses. All facade surfaces can be utilized for natural lighting. Roofs are highly insulated and unbroken. The spatial program is implemented 1:1, and circulation areas are kept to the necessary minimum. All rooms are naturally ventilated. An exhaust chimney will be constructed that extends about 7 meters above the hall building. The interior spaces are connected to the natural ventilation system through overflow openings.

The constructions are straightforward and easy to erect. The number of materials used is minimal; they are uncomplicated yet robust and easily replaceable if necessary. Dismantling, deconstruction, and disposal can be done with simple equipment, and the materials are largely recyclable.

ConcretePublicSteelWood

Data

Competition

2012

Address

Hildburghauser Straße 135-145
12209 Berlin

Awarding Authority

Senate Department for Urban Development and Environment Berlin

Related projects

Competition Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs

Berlin

The new building is intended to serve as an extension and infill between two existing buildings. Both buildings are witnesses to political and human conflicts. We aim to reconcile them through architecture—preserving this urban-philosophical document and sharpening its perception.

With the current use (BMAS), the upper floors are accessed securely through the main building, while the publicly accessible uses on the ground floor are independent of this. A climate-controlled structural connection is not included; however, an effective covering of the transition on the ground floor is planned. A direct connection on the lower floor is not planned but remains open for further planning.

Two separate access points are planned at the ends of the buildings. In the case of a third-party use (outside of BMAS), a separate access and address could be established here at any time. The upper floors can be organized freely between the cores—open space, individual or group offices, conference rooms, etc. If needed, a change of use (e.g., residential) within the primary structure and facade is also possible.

The historical edges of Wilhelmplatz have been shifted. Therefore, the original, immediate connection to the existing building is no longer feasible. Out of respect for the existing building and to avoid the formal conflict of a direct corner connection, we have created a building recess with one of our cores—creating a narrow gap to the existing building and shifting the building alignments. The new and old buildings appear to be connected in projection.

The layout and scale of the school building, and its origins from the catalog of prefabricated elements, intersect with the classicist language of the BMAS. Both buildings stand as symbols of political systems that have engaged in a historical conflict for a long time. Since the reunification of the two German states, this conflict has become obsolete. Nevertheless, they bear witness to a human attitude that has prevented rapprochement and free decision. We aim to preserve this urban-philosophical document and sharpen its perception.

We assume the continued existence of both neighboring buildings and attempt to reconcile the symbols of the former adversaries with our facade by incorporating and extending the key lines of both facades and weaving them into our own facade. The contours create parapet edges, facade profiles, and material joints between cladding elements. The facade becomes a metaphor—we intertwine historical and political opponents, public space with private, educational use with the working world, and citizens with politics.

Materiality, Color, and Detailing

The windows are set in deep reveals, and the parapets are clad with anodized aluminum panels. The panels are used in various tones (anthracite, bronze, gold, silver), both solid and perforated. The color scheme is borrowed from the existing BMAS building, bridging the neighboring buildings and making a distinct statement through its materiality, which will remain even if the school building’s facade receives new surfaces.

Correspondence Between Use and Design

All floor areas along Wilhelmstrasse are designed as flexible office spaces. Cores with vertical and technical access are positioned at the corners and oriented towards the courtyard (north). Three structural axes form the primary load-bearing framework—two of which are in the parapet level and one in the partition wall area, designed as a closet element. In full-use scenarios (not open space), the supports are not perceptible. The office depths are set at 5.4 meters, and the corridor width at 1.5 meters. On the ground floor, the publicly accessible areas include the daycare center and exhibition space.

ConcretePublic

Data

Competition

2013

Address

Wilhelmstraße 50
10117 Berlin

Awarding Authority

Bundesanstalt für Immobilienaufgaben
Anstalt des öffentlichen Rechts

Related projects

Competition Museum of Bavarian History

Regensburg

The inner city of Regensburg is characterized by its small-scale structure, resulting from its continuous historical development. Towards the Danube, the city's layout opens up, forming a tableau on the museum's site where various street axes converge. The new building integrates these axes and consolidates them into a city square facing the Danube. The open edges of the neighboring plots are closed and partially connected to the museum's main structure. This is where the Bavariathek, library, archive, administration, and other auxiliary rooms are located. Additionally, the building is publicly accessible throughout.

Floor Plan

The ground floor is an open hall—a "market hall" where all secondary uses of the museum's operation are offered. All supporting functions are compactly organized in a structured building spine that runs through all floors and also serves a stabilizing function for the entire construction.

Controlled access to the upper floors is provided via elevators and open staircases that run parallel to the façade (facing the Danube). The lecture hall, showroom, and special exhibition rooms are located on the first floor, with their own foyer connected to this access route. On this floor, there is the first bridge connection to the Bavariathek, which is repeated on the second floor. The third and fourth floors house additional exhibition spaces. The tour ends on a spacious rooftop terrace with a wide view over the city and countryside.

Relief

Facing the Danube, the building features a relief composed of horizontal elements, showcasing a selection of significant personalities from Bavarian state history and culture, buildings, technical objects representing Bavarian innovation, and symbols of folkloristic tradition.

Construction + Load-Bearing System + Facade

The basement, housing the technical facilities, is constructed as a sealed tank. All load-bearing columns are made of reinforced concrete, and the long-span ceilings use Cobiax system slabs.

Large transparent facade sections are built with a post-and-beam structure. The solid sections are constructed from large-format, highly insulating bricks and are finished with colored plaster.

Interior Finish

The interior design is intended to be simple: exposed concrete surfaces with a colored glaze (white), wooden doors also glazed in white, ceiling mirrors as light ceilings, natural stone flooring on the ground floor (similar to the surrounding outdoor surfaces), and wood in the corridors and exhibition areas.

Outdoor Facilities

The outdoor areas (surfaces, trees, dimensions) connect with the existing surroundings and continue around and through the ground floor ("market hall"). Density and openness alternate—towards the Danube, a beer garden is set up, modeled after traditional forms of this type of dining. With its shade-providing trees (geometrically pruned pollarded willows), it serves as both the starting and endpoint of the museum visit.

Sustainability

The building is compact. The roofs are highly insulated and unbroken. The constructions are straightforward and easy to erect. The number of selected materials is minimal, they are simple but robust, and can be easily replaced if necessary. Disassembly, deconstruction, and disposal are possible with basic equipment, and the materials are largely recyclable.

The building adheres to the DGNB sustainability criteria. The German quality seal incorporates various sustainability aspects into the following main criteria groups:

  • Process quality (quality assurance, structured commissioning, monitoring)
  • Ecological quality (pollutants and CO2 emissions)
  • Economic quality (value of materials and life cycle calculations)
  • Sociocultural and functional quality (user comfort and design)
  • Technical quality (building quality)

ConcretePublic

Data

Competition

2012

Address

Donaumarkt
93047 Regensburg

Awarding Authority

State Building Authority Regensburg

Related projects

Competition Fourth Comprehensive School

Aachen

"Not the child should adapt to the environment, but we should adapt the environment to the child."

— Maria Montessori

More than a School: A Lived Philosophy

The fourth comprehensive school in Aachen is taking a new approach. Teams of teachers and students form communities that learn together and spend the day together. Equality replaces hierarchy, and group work takes the place of frontal teaching. Students are empowered in their individuality rather than being dominated.

At the same time, students organize their own learning environment. In coordination with teachers, this creates a novel advisory and learning attitude. With a self-determined living environment, identification grows. School is perceived as a living place rather than an abstract institution.

Urban Planning Concept

The site is situated in the midst of a Gründerzeit district. The distinct topography and dense vegetation characterize the property. We aim to highlight the elevation and the quality of open space in our design. A central building span connects the existing classroom towers with a new sports hall. The building is traversable both inside and out, creating very diverse zones. In addition to the towers and central structure, we are placing small pavilions with a student café and a teaching kitchen in the garden.

The former sports field will be converted into the entrance courtyard, which already integrates the topography and leads into and through the building. The delivery for the cafeteria will be via Bergstraße, while the delivery for the sports hall will be directly from Sandkaulstraße. Fire and emergency services can access the site from various points via Sandkaulstraße and Bergstraße.

Architectural Concept

The floor plans are organized playfully—the ground floor essentially consists of a large hall with a forum, cafeteria, consulting rooms, and student representation rooms. In addition, there are two small pavilions in the gardens—serving as a student café and a teaching kitchen. On the upper floor, a simple building strip connects all components. It maintains a distance from the classroom towers and rests above the sports hall, which forms the spatial boundary to the street. Specialized classrooms are arranged on the north side to prevent extreme temperature fluctuations and drastic light influences. Multipurpose rooms and a meditation room are inserted into the floor plan as free-standing volumes—they extend curiously beyond the building edges or are located within large tree canopies (treehouse).

The corridor narrows, widens, and becomes a roof terrace under the tree canopies. The wall surfaces are partly transparent with views into the garden and partly opaque. The non-transparent areas are clad with wood (School of Tactility). Floor coverings vary according to the external space: terrazzo cast under the tree canopies—similar to a gravel bed under a plane tree in a mid-19th century French courtyard—and textile flooring in the concentrated areas between offices and specialized classrooms. Surface and material variety are intended to sharpen the perception of acoustics and tactility.

Only the central building (current cafeteria) will be removed from the existing structure. The remaining components will be preserved. A floor slab will be placed above the ceiling of the basement, forming the distribution level on the ground floor. From this elevation, the height concept of the building will develop.

The existing buildings will receive a new envelope—15/20 cm insulation and a cladding of wooden panels. The staircases will be rebuilt and reorganized. This way, all height levels will be accessible, including barrier-free access via elevators in the stairwells.

Structural Framework

The structural framework will be made of reinforced concrete. Columns will be positioned in the facade area and interior. The existing basement will be overbuilt. Bore piles will be placed directly next to the northern basement wall. A floor slab as a surface grid will be laid over this series of bore piles, extending to the northern and southern outer walls (spans of 10m/5m). On this slab, the necessary load-bearing elements—columns and massive walls—will be erected.

“The path on which the weak strengthen themselves is the same as the one on which the strong perfect themselves.”

— Maria Montessori

ConcretePublic

Data

Competition

2011

Address

Sandkaulstraße 75
52062 Aachen
Germany

Awarding Authority

Gebäudemanagement der Stadt Aachen

Related projects

Competition DFB Football Museum

Dortmund

The roof of the museum will be designed as a walkable terrace landscape—a vibrant urban space for soccer games, spectators, city walkers, café terraces, lounging areas, and more: an arena on top of the museum in the city.

The building combines two urban potentials:

  • Symbolic Value: A distinctive symbol with strong identification power for both the DFB and the city of Dortmund.
  • Functional Value: The building’s user interface activates the structure—beyond its museum functions—creating a unique, lively space within the urban environment: the museum plays an active role in city life.

The usable surface of the museum building adds value both for the operator and the city.

The terraced height development of the building, which rhythmically ascends and descends along the cultural mile, creates a "landscape" that interacts with the existing urban environment. The museum, overall relatively low, reaches a building height of approximately 15.5 meters at its highest terrace, making it significantly lower than the buildings at the city edge, thereby maintaining its impact on the cityscape.

In addition to its distinctiveness, the football museum should be a building accessible to visitors from all walks of life, meaning it should not create barriers but rather be welcoming and spark interest.

Thus, the intention is not to create a monument, but rather an instrument for football enthusiasts that they can be proud of and with which they can identify.

Public

Award

1.Prize

Competition

Data

Competition

2011

Address

Platz der Deutschen Einheit 1
44137 Dortmund
Germany

Awarding Authority

City of Dortmund

Partner

BWM Architektur & Design interdisziplinäre GmbH mit ZT:
Markus Kaplan
Johann Moser

Related projects

Competition Primary School Höchsten

Dortmund

The site of the Höchstener Primary School is located at one of the highest points in the Dortmund city layout. In some places, the view extends over the landscape areas all the way into the city center. The terrain rises continuously by about 3.70 meters in the longitudinal direction. The surrounding neighborhood mainly consists of small-scale residential buildings and a church with community facilities. Alongside the historic school building, the site is occupied by a sports hall and large pavilions from different construction periods. These temporary structures have become permanent fixtures. The open spaces for the schoolyard and outdoor play areas have been reduced to residual areas.

In the future, the high quality of the site should be utilized for the needs of the students and teachers. A new building will replace the temporary structures and historic elements. It will flank the southeastern edge of the site with two single-story, elongated building volumes stacked on top of each other. This configuration creates a concentrated construction area and maximizes open spaces, which will be designed as a schoolyard (paved), a school garden (unpaved and cultivated), or a green area with trees (park-like). A compact building with a simple floor plan ensures low operating costs and offers flexible usage options.

In this way, the guiding principles of the Höchstener Primary School are incorporated into the architectural concept in various ways:

Knowledge | Individualization | Independence | Social Learning | Cooperation

Public

Data

Competition

2010

Address

Lührmannstraße 1
44267 Dortmund
Germany

Awarding Authority

City administration Dortmund

Siteplan
Detail Facade
Floorplan

Related projects

Competition New Village Centre Meilen

Meilen am Zürichsee

After the retreat of the Linth Glacier about 10,000 years ago, its terminal moraine dammed the Linth River, causing the valley to gradually fill and form what is now Lake Zurich. Thus, the Ice Age shaped the entire landscape surrounding the lake. Glacial erratics remain as striking and vivid witnesses of these past events.

Over time, settlements, villages, and towns grew here. Today, they have almost merged along the shores of Lake Zurich, causing village boundaries to blur, and with them, the authenticity and individuality of each place. At the same time, these areas face cultural and economic competition with one another. Highlighting their unique strengths has become a central challenge for local development.

Meilen, with its existing urban structure and unique topographic position on the sunny side of Lake Zurich, has exceptional potential to confidently develop its own identity. To achieve this, we propose two new elements: the "Belvedere" and the "Solitär." The spacious terrace and the distinctive new building give Meilen’s town center a new identity, without overshadowing or disrupting its familiar surroundings.

At the heart of the development is the Belvedere, an elevated public terrace with views of the lake, serving as a shared forecourt for the town hall, building department, and the new construction. It sits at street level along the village road, offering a new, unusual view of Lake Zurich from its southern edge.

Solitaire

The new building stands on the Belvedere terrace like a glacial erratic perched on a terrace formed by lateral moraines. Positioned at the junction between the town hall and the building authority, it is connected to them through the basement level. The ground floor houses a public cafeteria. Its exterior form is rounded and worn, reminiscent of an erratic boulder, yet its proportions, roof height, and geometry relate to the existing buildings, forming an ensemble full of tension and contrast.

Town Hall and Building Authority

The familiar facades of the town hall and the building authority remain unchanged, except for the windows, which will be updated to meet current energy efficiency standards. A new glass entrance on the south side leads from the Belvedere into the town hall. The listed municipal hall, staircases, and most of the existing partition walls remain untouched. Both historic buildings will be equipped with accessible elevators. The town hall’s glass elevator is placed behind the southern facade, offering a view over the Belvedere towards the lake as it moves.

Basement Levels

Large parts of the building program are housed beneath the terrace level, minimizing the visible new construction volume. Two courtyards cut into the terrace, along with openings and light wells along the edges, provide ample lighting and ventilation to the underground rooms. Even the underground parking area benefits from natural daylight, creating an inviting atmosphere.

Lower Plaza

A grand staircase, a ramp, and an elevator lead from the Belvedere terrace to a lower, slightly angled plaza in the southern part of the perimeter. This plaza is surrounded by existing and new buildings that adopt the local scale and are suitable for various uses (classrooms, studios, spaces for community events, cultural activities, school expansions, etc.). Thus, two squares of different characteristics are created: the Belvedere as an urban terrace and the lower village square, framed by buildings, suitable for the annual "Chilbi" fair.

Materialization

The materialization of the Belvedere and the Solitaire is inspired by the Ice Age metaphors that drive the design:

Glacial erratics are often granite... The plaza will be paved with rough-cut light and dark granite slabs. Their varied orientation, the layout of lines, and the geometry reflect the vineyard patterns that shape the landscape. The joints between the slabs will be used for lighting, drainage, ventilation, and pathway guidance. The plaza is bordered by geometrically trimmed hedges and trees.

One component of granite is mica... Mica consists of silver or bronze-colored minerals that give the stone a metallic sheen depending on the processing. The building facades will be clad in a metal curtain wall made of matte, glass bead-blasted stainless steel, giving the structure a monolithic appearance like an erratic boulder. The box windows are flush with the exterior, with sun protection placed between the outer single glazing and inner insulated glazing. The metal facade will not hide the aging process; it will darken and become dull over time, allowing the building to gradually integrate into its surroundings and become a familiar part of the new town center.

Public

Data

Competition

2009

Address

Dorfstraße 100
8706 Meilen
Switzerland

Awarding Authority

Gemeinderat Meilen

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