Unbuilt – Projects in Dortmund
Dortmund
We look back on 20 years of exciting projects – many of which have already become valuable components of the city, while others have remained visions on paper.
To mark our anniversary, we are also dedicating ourselves to all those designs that tell the story of a different city but have remained UNBUILT. Creative visions at prominent locations in Dortmund that would certainly have fundamentally changed the city in terms of its aesthetics and function. As diverse as the selection of typologies on display may be, they are united by their close connection to the eventful history of Dortmund as a Ruhr metropolis, with all its upheavals.
What if all these designs had become reality?
Central Station
Königswall 14
44137 Dortmund
What could a train station look like that is not just a transit point, but a gateway to the city?
The design reorganizes the station area, strikingly defines the main entrance and creates clear pathways - especially to Nordstadt. Sculptural steels, new pathways and elevated building structures set the scene for the arrival. A mix of service, distribution and recreational buildings creates new urban qualities - both to the north and south.
RAG House
Hansastraße 95
44137 Dortmund
2020 | Preliminary building application
From office building to green home
The design transforms the former RAG building through conversion, targeted interventions and a green layering in the vertical. Existing office structures are converted into a variety of apartment types, while the staggering of the volume allows for communal gardens on several levels. A project that rethinks existing buildings - functionally, socially and ecologically.
DFB Soccer Museum
Platz der Deutschen Einheit 1
44137 Dortmund
2011 | Competition, 1st Prize
How can a museum be more than just an exhibition venue?
The design uses the roof as an accessible terrace landscape - with recreational areas, play zones and views of the city. The stepped building structure responds to the urban context and continues the movement of the cultural mile. Instead of a closed structure, the result is an open, usable building with strong symbolic power - as an identity-forming place in the public space.
Königswall
Königswall 42
44137 Dortmund
2021 | Study
How can existing inner-city buildings be developed for the future?
The design combines conversion, an additional storey and new barrier-free access to create a mixed-use building. Offices and flexible apartments are spread over six storeys, topped off with a two-storey penthouse apartment with a roof garden. A new striking façade with sculptural prefabricated elements, projecting bay windows and green terraces draws attention to the new urban living and working environment.
City and Regional Library Dortmund
Max-Von-Der-Grün Platz 1-3
44137 Dortmund
1996 | Competition
“Open House” a place for the urban community
With the construction of the new city and regional library, an identity-forming public building is being created in Dortmund at an important urban location: directly opposite the main railway station, at the interface between the historic city center, cultural mile and urban station district. With the new library building, this traditional site will take on a new public significance and in future will function as an open, lively house for knowledge, exchange and encounters.
BVB Stadium
Strobelallee 50
44137 Dortmund
Feasibility study
How can a soccer stadium be converted into a multifunctional hall?
In the course of the ongoing modernization and flexibilization of the BVB stadium, which is increasingly intended to accommodate non-sporting events, BVB is considering combining the concept of a stadium with that of a multifunctional hall. This project is the result of a feasibility study.
Waldpelz
Kampstraße – Brüderweg
44137 Dortmund
1997 | Wettbewerb
How can emptiness be reimagined?
The design uses the derelict Kampstrasse as an opportunity for a radical change of perspective: instead of traffic space, a lively, natural urban space is created. Densification through vegetation, openness through water surfaces, small-scale interventions instead of large-scale concepts. An unexpected place that not only complements the city center, but reimagines it.
Westfalenforum
Kampstraße 37-39
44137 Dortmund
2017 | Study
Urbanity is created through plurality
The design replaces monofunctional retail spaces with a finely meshed, mixed-use quarter with public paths, small squares and diverse typologies. A green access layer links the buildings vertically - as a connecting park between commercial and residential areas. This creates an urban structure that promotes neighborhood, allows for change and creates new identification in the center.
Stadtkrone Ost
Stockholmerallee
44269 Dortmund
How can a house offer the same quality of living and maximum individuality at the same time?
All residential units have views in all directions - the lounges always face east, west or south, never north. All entrances are on the north side. The cubature is reminiscent of day or night butterflies, which is why we call them “butterfly houses”. They are significant, with a U-shaped first floor as a base and elongated upper floors with an east/west orientation on top. The houses in the individual rows are offset from each other by the full width of the building. This means that each residential unit has a good view of the protected landscape.
UNBUILT MAP DORTMUND
The UNBUILT MAP contains a selection of the projects presented and locates them in the urban space. Whether for a city walk or specific architectural visits, the multitude of projects and themes provides inspiration for every need, and the map helps you find your way around.
While some designs focus on the city center, the old heart of Dortmund, the map also includes visions for the east of the city, the exhibition grounds, and the stadium. From fundamental questions of infrastructure and museum culture to the issue of contemporary forms of living and the relationship between city and nature, the projects not only tell the story of the eventful history of the Ruhr metropolis of Dortmund, but also address the pressing issues of the time, both then and now.
Competition Wellinghofer Straße
Dortmund
The competition site on Wellinghofer Strasse offers excellent potential for a housing project with apartments, especially for families with children - embedded in a green corridor with a wide view of Phoenix West, a school and a potentially good position for gardens with a south/west orientation. Unfortunately, the provisions of the legally binding development plan are far removed from the requirements of the current Climate Protection Act. For example, a large number of existing trees are to be disposed of, a high demand for car parking spaces is defined, which cannot be met in a basement garage alone and therefore requires additional sealed areas above ground. The idea of a “sponge city” is thus thwarted. The planned north/south orientation of a large part of the future development does not allow for well-lit apartments with maximum use of the buildable area - building depth 18m.
We have therefore decided to deviate from some of the stipulations in order to create a balanced relationship between private and semi-public spaces and to create favorable conditions for climate-friendly and resource-conscious construction.
Living with nature
Children play in the fresh air, splash around in the natural pond, neighbors with green fingers garden in the vegetable patch and the fire pit is the place for spontaneous or planned celebrations. The existing green corridor is to be visually transferred to the private gardens and semi-public open spaces of the building community. In this way, we want to ensure ecological diversity and the infiltration capacity of the soil as far as possible. The underground car park will be enclosed with small walls, steps and seating, staggered paths, planting beds and water basins or infiltration troughs. The artificial geometry of the garden is a basic pattern that runs through the entire quarter and deliberately contrasts with the natural wildflower meadow, flowering fruit trees and native shrubs and hedges. Drought-resistant plants and moisture-retaining ground covers are preferred when selecting plants.
Access + Apartements
All building entrances and the entrance/exit to the underground parking garage are addressed to Planstrasse. The entrances are barrier-free and wheelchair-accessible. Arcades are designed so that they can be meeting points for informal exchanges. Each apartment is oriented on two or three sides and is therefore very well lit and ventilated. In construction site 2, we are currently planning large first floor apartments that are accessed via an inner courtyard and private front gardens. The specific staggering of the volumes allows for a roof terrace on each building for use by the building community.
Concept Floorplan
The floor plan concept contains only a few fixed components (shafts, columns or walls). The type of construction allows for a high degree of floor plan variability within the supporting structure and thus enables different layouts - apartments from 25 m2 to 250 m2 - from one-room apartments to cluster apartments for shared flats or integrated “townhouses” with individual entrances and private gardens for families. This means that a large number of small and medium-sized apartments can be created, as well as a smaller number of larger apartments. In this layout, we are proposing approx. 83 units on a gross floor area of approx. 9,200 m2, mainly apartments for families with children in various apartment typologies.
Building Equipment
The energy requirement is covered without complex building technology, via district heating. To this end, the new residential quarter in Planstrasse will be connected to the city of Dortmund's new low-CO2 local heating network. The building envelope (Efficiency House 40) of the houses in conjunction with low-temperature underfloor heating and façade-integrated decentralized ventilation units with highly effective heat recovery reduce the primary energy requirement. Shafts are bundled as far as possible and their number is reduced to a minimum, with external awnings (south-facing windows) or curtains on the balconies, depending on the orientation. Generous window areas with triple glazing allow - if necessary - a high natural heat input into the apartments in winter. PV systems (CIS solar modules) will be installed on the roofs to generate electricity (60% of the gross roof area). The yield and consumption data will be available to all residents on a touch panel in their apartments. The aim is to motivate them to use energy sparingly.
Construction + Architecture
Hybrids are created from timber (exterior walls, interior walls, columns) and prestressed reinforced concrete hollow core slabs (ceilings) with a high degree of prefabrication and great detail quality as a “detachable” construction - designed in such a way that they can be separated by type and treated separately - for reuse or disposal. StBn is used where sound and fire protection requirements make other constructions uneconomical - in the garage as a monolithic StBn construction, in the rising storeys with prestressed concrete hollow planks, which are characterized by a minimized use of materials: -50% concrete and -70% steel. Wooden walls and columns (west side) form the primary supporting structure with a grid of 7.5 m on which the prestressed concrete hollow core slabs are placed. Cores for TH and elevators form part of the bracing. Closed wall panels also have a stiffening effect on the structure. The exterior walls are brought to the construction site as a timber frame construction with a pre-greyed timber cladding and assembled to the supporting structure there. The principle of “no waste” should be adhered to during production and erection on site.
Awards
2nd Prize
Competition / Realization
Upon Invitation
Data
Competition
2023
Address
Wellinghofer Straße
44263 Dortmund
Germany
Awarding Authority
DSG Dortmunder Stadtentwicklungsgesellschaft
mbH & Co. KG
Partner
Innenarchitektur:
bueroZ, Stuttgart
Landschaftsarchitektur:
Hannes Hörr, Stuttgart
Tragwerk:
IB Bauwesen Horn GmbH, Leipzig
TGA:
Janowski Ingenieure GmbH, Berlin
Competition Eisenwerkgelände Böhmer
Witten
The Böhmer ironworks is a former industrial site in Witten, where a company that prospered for many decades shaped urban development and has left its mark to this day. From the 50s and 60s of the 20th century until the closure of the company in 2020, structural development was always geared towards demand. The original industrial building stock is largely robust in substance, can be used flexibly due to its structure and has now been integrated into a mixed-use agglomeration as a result of unplanned development processes in the surrounding area. Today, large volumes of buildings with no specific use can be found in the vicinity of small-scale commercial enterprises, residential infrastructure and various residential buildings - a typical mix for the Ruhr region.
Activation
The building fabric is robust. Although it must be technically adapted to future requirements, there is no compelling reason for large-scale demolition. The existing buildings and the spaces in between not only shape the perception in the neighborhood, they also offer the best conditions for a comprehensive transformation process: the buildings are largely preserved. They are neutral in terms of use and are ready for short-term activation. For example, some of the halls of the former foundry are already being used as logistics space and may be activated in the long term for the “last mile”.
Each building is examined: for its structural quality, adaptability, “gray energy”, resources, future energy requirements, flexibility of use, fire protection, etc. In this way, targeted structural measures can be taken to secure the substance in the long term, to provide new uses in the short term and thus to generate the necessary income for the resilience of the portfolio.
Adaptive Idea
The initial aim is to maximize the adaptation of existing buildings - irrespective of any monument conservation assessment. Research evaluates the possibilities for transformations. The metalworking shop becomes a market hall, the assembly hall becomes a food court. Distinctive building typologies - “Blitz” - are preserved and integrated into the concept in a way that shapes the design and creates identity:
- New building configures/contours the future context
- Sample warehouse becomes student accommodation
- Foundry becomes logistics location
- Workshops may or may not remain workshops
- Assembly hall 1 becomes a food court
- Assembly hall 2 becomes a market hall
- Office building becomes new office building or studio/student housing
- Sample warehouse becomes student accommodation
- Foundry becomes logistics location
- Workshops may or may not remain workshops
- Assembly hall 1 becomes a food court
- Assembly hall 2 becomes a market hall
- Office building becomes new office building or studio/student housing
Iterative process: Termination + Re-arrangement
Our proposal is less a concrete urban development concept and more an urban development strategy for gradual transformation and integration. A strategy that keeps options open that are perhaps not yet known today.
This is why conversion, demolition and new construction follow an iterative process. What stands in the way of development or is no longer needed is removed - if necessary, the material is recycled. Demolition and reorganization create new places, new identities - the visible/perceptible/contextual transformation process begins for everything that characterizes urban life: Eating + drinking, living, children, old people, doctors, care … „… come on you raver, you seer of visions, come on you painter, you piper, you prisoner, and shine …”.
“Housing” is becoming an important building block here. Existing buildings will be converted in various forms, e.g. the model warehouse on Westfalenstrasse, or new buildings will be constructed. To this end, we have developed a typology from the large-format, early assembly halls (not foundries) that offers differentiated spaces on a compact foodprint - flexible in use (residential, care, commercial) and adaptable and can offer variable-use spaces with greater room height on the first floor. In this way, the future urban scale is derived from the existing building, interpreted in a contemporary way and designed for the future. The load-bearing structure and technical concept (as much as necessary, as little as possible) also allow for future adaptability in these newly constructed building types. According to “Wittener Baulandmanagement”, 25% of the residential construction area will be built as subsidized housing. The floor plan organization of our buildings allows for this.
A central square will link the future and existing buildings and create a tangible, vibrant urbanity. From here, further development stages could open up the adjoining areas to the east - with residential buildings that take up the existing grain and formally follow a curved line. To the north, they face a public street (play street); to the south, private gardens are set up for the residential community. In this way, a “stitching” of new and old can gradually be created. A public thoroughfare - for pedestrians and cyclists - is to be created towards Erlenweg.
Mobility
In the future, there will be three types of traffic here - motorized, non-motorized and commuter traffic. We offer parking spaces at a central location in a garage.
Commuter traffic - logistics and commercial enterprises - will drive into the industrial estate via Westfalenstraße / vehicles for supply and disposal or ambulance transport will frequent the area temporarily and can use all roads - as can private deliveries.
Pedestrians and cyclists have barrier-free access to all areas
Private motorized traffic can drive directly to the buildings for deliveries and then park their cars in the garage.
Parking: The parking space concept is based on the mix of uses desired by the developer, including care, retail (market hall), medical practices, offices, residential, etc. Accordingly, no underground parking garage is required. Should the requirements/mix change, partial underground parking garages with natural ventilation can be built under the footprints of the buildings.
Awards
1st Prize
Urban planning qualification procedure
Data
Competition
2023
Address
Böhmerareal
58453 Witten
Awarding Authority
Stadt Witten - Planning department
Partner
Interior Architecture: bueroZ, Stuttgart
Competition Urban Center
Berlin
The Urban Center Neu-Hohenschönhausen project is to be developed in accordance with the basic principles of ecological and social sustainability, a new hotspot of urban biodiversity, a green hub in the ecological system of the metropolis. Municipally controlled urban development based on public housing companies and cooperatives can prevent the negative effects of speculation and gentrification. The planning implements various standards of green in order to radically improve the social and ecological quality of the urban context. By combining nature-based solutions with the help of innovative and sustainable technologies, new qualitative, spatial and livable standards are created. The aim is to create a modern and lively new urban district. In the medium term, Falkenberger Chaussee will be rethought as a lively green axis in connection with the transport transition and electric motorization.
The available plot of land with a surface area of around 6 hectares will be divided into three building plots: Building plot 1 along Falkenberger Chaussee: A large entrance pergola with a market hall marks the beginning and creates a connection with the neighboring shopping center. Living and working areas will be accommodated in a large modular and hybrid city shelf in two sections. With its perfect southwest orientation and green terraces, it fulfills people's desire for contact with nature and for sufficient open space with privacy. All infrastructure facilities of the new district, small shops, library, theater, family center, and an above-ground neighborhood garage for 200 cars will be integrated into the city shelf. A green high-rise building forms the signature.
Construction site 2 west of the cinema: The Berlin apartment block is being rethought, diagonally and modularly, with a diverse mix of apartments, duplex apartments if possible, townhouses integrated on the ground floor and first floor with direct access, enclosed and green inner courtyard, allotments in the courtyard and on the roof.
Construction site 3 east of the cinema: A cooperative quarter is planned here with a participatory planning model for alternative and communal forms of living and working, 30% cluster apartments + commercial/creative workshops + a public and green courtyard for community activities outdoors.
A completely CO2-neutral wooden city with model character is proposed. With wood from urban planning to the execution details, the new urban district also gets its own aesthetic identity. The creation of vertical and horizontal green spaces contributes to the character. Modularity and flexibility of the building elements in combination with simple and robust structures should promote longevity and a continuous mix of uses.
The interface between living and the city is formed by the ground floor and access zones, as well as arcades and staircases. The aim is to create lively spaces with a variety of uses and community offers. Courtyards and small, intimate squares offer village security, but also the opportunity for networking, new urban hotspots.
ECOLOGY
The use of state-of-the-art irrigation and rainwater collection systems and the selection of native plants - with high CO2 storage capacity, removal of air pollutants and attraction for pollinating insects - are among the core points of the project to increase comfort in the buildings and the well-being of the community. The new district is to have car-reduced living. The central district street will be traffic-calmed and developed as an Active Street.
In line with the ecological approach, Falkenberger Chaussee will be intensively greened and calmed with new rows of trees. A municipal sports park with covered sports fields will be built along the railway tracks in the green embankment under the railway overpass. On the south side of Falkenberger Chaussee, a new attractive train station with an integrated mobility hub (car sharing, e-bike station, bicycle parking garage) is planned in the form of a large roof folding over the tracks.
Data
Competition
2021
Address
Falkenberger Chaussee
13057 Berlin
Awarding Authority
Senate Department for Urban Development and Housing
Partner
Landscape architecture:
Hannes Hörr, Stuttgart
Competition Multi-Generational House With Day Care Facility
Salach
Salach is getting a new garden. A “garden for everyone”. It used to be allotment gardens, parceled out in miniature, inaccessible to the public. Today it is a large meadow, flanked by multi-storey residential buildings, the buildings of the local fire department, a house for senior citizens and the new “House for All”. The center is the garden. It connects everything and is intended to become a place where people enjoy spending time - a new green center, with fruit trees, other deciduous trees, beds that are cultivated together, deckchairs in the shade of the trees, small ponds in which rainwater collects and a photovoltaic pergola. The view goes over the railroad line to the Schachenmayer site - striking buildings, significant for the history of the town and important for its appearance in the future. We do not want to obstruct this view and propose a glass wall as protection against noise emissions from rail traffic - unpretentious in design, inconspicuous in the townscape.
Development + Floor Plan
The “House for All” is addressed on Messelbergstrasse. A small forecourt connects the entrances to all units and is also suitable for small events. The rooms of the Ü3 daycare center are located on the first floor and surround an approx. 800 m2 green inner courtyard with direct access to the “Garden for All”. The U3 nursery is located above this on the upper floor with a covered play terrace. This allows the children to keep an eye on each other. The family center is organized over two floors. The ground floor opens directly onto the garden and is connected to the upper floor via an air space and gallery, which also has direct terrace access to the garden. The entrance to the young people's rooms flanks the entrance square. The façade of the rehearsal room can be opened up completely, turning it into a stage and the covered entrance area into an auditorium. A terrace on the upper floor (east) extends the space and signals independence to the young people through the location and arrangement of these rooms.
The visitor parking lot will be at ground level, close to the entrance, between the “Haus für Alle” and the municipal depot. Delivery, waste disposal etc. are also arranged here. Only a small part of the building will have a basement - for storage areas, building services, etc.
Color
Areas of colour characterize the different areas. We don't want to simply “paint” walls and ceilings - all colors are independent elements. They are independent of the surfaces they are applied to and support the design and space. Some colors are reminiscent of summer, some of spring, others of autumn or winter.
Construction + Material
The house is planned as a timber frame construction. Ceiling and roof surfaces are integrated into the structure as compact timber hollow core ceilings and form a smooth soffit. The bracing is provided by combined access/sanitary cores made of solid timber components (cross-laminated timber), which are dimensioned for burn-off, as are other load-bearing components. All opaque façades are constructed with vertical inverted cladding. The façade surfaces of the upper floor overlap those of the first floor for optimized water drainage. All roof surfaces can do more - they are either energy-generating surfaces (PV) or greened, thus ensuring reduced rainwater runoff. The remaining rainwater is collected in a cistern and fed into the gray water system.
Energy concept
To optimize visual and thermal comfort while reducing investment and operating costs by minimizing the installed building technology and maximizing passive use (storage masses, air flow, etc.) - no dependence on fossil fuels.
Ventilation concept, particularly in the assembly areas, with mechanical basic ventilation - supply air via displacement air outlets, exhaust air at a central point for heat recovery. Minimization of the air volume to the amount of fresh air required by the user and consistent minimization of the pressure loss in the duct network and the ventilation units.
Low heating requirement due to high thermal insulation standards via surface heating (floor) with low temperature or ventilation (assembly rooms). Intelligent use of heat sources and sinks in the building, as well as covering residual energy requirements with natural resources wherever possible. Waste heat from artificial light can be used for temperature control in other areas (ancillary rooms, offices). This networking of energy sources and sinks makes it possible to “shift” the energy within the building and reduce the use of additional energy.
Activation of the soil using a compact soil absorber and a reversible heat pump for the supply and removal of heat as required, with a constant soil temperature all year round and a high heat pump performance factor to cover the base load when heating is required. Due to the large-scale thermally activated floor areas in the building, the existing soil temperature can also be used for direct cooling over a long period of the year. If the soil temperature exceeds the possibility of direct cooling, the compact soil absorber is used to cool the refrigeration machine (reversible heat pump).
Awards
Appreciation
Open implementation competition
Data
Competition
2021
Address
Messelbergstraße
73084 Salach
Awarding Authority
Gemeinde Salach
Partner
Interior design:
bueroZ, Stuttgart
Landscape architecture:
Hannes Hörr, Stuttgart
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.
Data
Competition
2020
Address
Wolbecker Str. 23
48155 Münster
Deutschland
Organizer
Institute of the Fire Department NRW
Münster
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.
Data
Competition
2017
Address
H. ir O. Minkovskių g
46213 Kaunas, Lithuania
Awarding Authority
Public Institution of Kaunas Architecture and Urban Experts Council (KAUEC)
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.
Data
Competition
2016
Address
Prof.-Kümmell-Straße
34497 Korbach
Awarding Authority
District and Hanseatic city Korbach
Waldpelz
Dortmund
How can emptiness be reimagined?
The design uses the derelict Kampstrasse as an opportunity for a radical change of perspective: instead of traffic space, a lively, natural urban space is created. Densification through vegetation, openness through water surfaces, small-scale interventions instead of large-scale concepts. An unexpected place that not only complements the city center, but reimagines it.
We are in the Ruhr region. Between Sauerland and the Rhein plain along the Ruhr, an artificial conglomerate of uncoordinated structural developments, driven by coal mining and steel production. Mining and steel production were already discontinued in the 1960s, since then the boom phase triggered by the above-mentioned exceptional exogenous impulses has come to an end and the Ruhr area is shrinking - not in terms of area, but in terms of population. Dortmund forms the eastern end of the Ruhr area and was an important trading city even before the initiation of mining and steel production and was part of the Hanseatic League for many years. The medieval character and urban density are no longer recognizable after massive destruction during the war; on the contrary, the reconstruction by adding large volumes followed the idea of establishing the city centre as a place for trade and services. Housing is only found in peripheral locations and on a small scale. The public areas are almost completely sealed, the dimensions of the traffic areas are optimized for car and truck traffic, and no provision was made for parks.
Where large retail spaces disappear…
One could say that the effects of the war were seen by the population as an opportunity to develop their city according to the new criteria of urban development (Athens Charter) and to establish the city center as a “shopping mall”. However, this idea is more of a “business model” than a living space. This concept was already clearly coming to an end in the 1990s and is now being accelerated by delivery services that are marginalizing bricks-and-mortar retail. This crisis of the inner city “business model” is an opportunity for the inner city living space - where large retail spaces disappear, small-scale residential structures with their necessary surroundings can emerge.
Westenhellweg, the historic commercial street, which today forms the epicenter of inner-city retail as a pedestrian zone, runs west-east through the city center. Kampstraße is arranged parallel to it, an artificial aisle, intended as a traffic axis for delivery logistics, supply and disposal for the large department stores along Westenhellweg. Since the 1970s, the relocation of the inner-city streetcars underground was planned as a metro line and implemented by 2000. Above-ground streetcars and cars were removed from the cityscape, leaving behind a 50m-100m wide corridor that completely cuts through the city center from west to east, but could not offer any urban development qualities. The idea of urban planning was to develop a “Boulevard Kampstraße”. However, due to its history as a logistics axis, Kampstrasse lacked all the necessary urban prerequisites for a successful boulevard from the outset. The Westenhellweg with its 1.3 km long pedestrian zone is right next door, all the stores, restaurants and cafés are oriented towards it - there was foreseeably no economic opportunity for the Boulevard Kampstraße.
Intervention!
We see this urban development crisis as an opportunity - a formidable empty space for better living spaces in the middle of the city - not a central park, but a forest with dense trees, soft soils that can absorb moisture and bind dust, shady places and open water areas, biodiversity, but above all a magical place. We propose to remove/extract an area of forest in the neighboring Sauerland with the contour of the Kampstrasse (footprint) and use it here, including the forest floor with its topography. Surface water is collected at selected points and can be experienced as small ponds. In the darkest places, “mythical creatures” await with their stories - 5m to 6m high sculptures by Ariane Koch. We call the concept Waldpelz (forest fur).
Unfortunately, the competition jury was of the opinion that it was a provocation and refused to judge the work. Unbuilt.
Daten
Competition
1997
Address
Kampstraße - Brüderweg
44137 Dortmund
Awarding Authority
City of Dortmund
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.
Data
Competition
2012
Address
Hildburghauser Straße 135-145
12209 Berlin
Awarding Authority
Senate Department for Urban Development and Environment Berlin
