Competition G Data

Bochum

Creativity and intellectual flexibility, combined with proactive execution strategies, create their own markets. To accomplish this task, a constantly motivating environment is needed—this includes areas for focused work as well as zones for relaxation and communication—specific spaces for rationality and emotion. Close connections, a continuously regenerating network of information flows, and diverse available knowledge—this is how G DATA presents itself to the external observer.

The image of neural synapses comes to mind. We want to anticipate this association in the building structure.

Floor Plan

This results in a layout with two buildings: a four-story office building for "rationality" and a connected single-story pavilion for "emotion." Terraces are offered on its roof, as well as a landscape loggia facing the valley, adjacent to the restaurant areas. The single-story pavilion houses the academy, lounge, bar, and restaurant, as well as service center rooms along its edges.

The floor plan is designed as a fluid space. Usable areas and traffic zones are not separated but form a unified space, which is fully usable. This approach enhances circulation areas.

Urban Design

The four-story office building is constructed along Lise-Meitner-Allee, forming the gateway to the district. The pavilion, with its inserted structures of varying heights, follows the planned street and opens up on the first floor towards the valley. On this side, it is elevated as a belvedere.

Facades

The facades of the office building are designed homogeneously around the entire layout. The closed sections cover 50% to 60% of the facade, depending on orientation, and are clad with terracotta. The transparent sections are designed as casement windows integrated into a vertical line structure.

MixedOfficePublic

Siteplan
Floorplan Groundfloor

Data

Competition

2008

Address

Lise-Meitner-Allee 24
44801 Bochum
Germany

Awarding Authority

G DATA Software AG,
Bochum

Views
Detail Facade

Related projects

Competition Volkswohl Bund Insurance

Dortmund

Volkswohl Bund Insurance aims to secure its success for the future. To achieve this, a new building with modern workplaces and functions is necessary.

Urban Planning Concept

The block perimeter at Chemnitzer Straße – Hohe Straße – Südwall will be closed. The existing street-level base floors will be demolished, and the high-rise will be exposed and accessed via an appropriate, forecourt. This square opens up the city access from Hohe Straße towards the city center and visually connects the city center with the adjacent residential area. A place with vibrant qualities will emerge. The courtyard will be extensively greened and kept free of vehicular traffic.

Design/Architectural Concept

The building will be centrally accessible—a two-story entrance hall serves as the starting point for straightforward navigation within the building. From here, all functional units are directly accessible. Two building wings will be constructed parallel to Südwall. The space between these wings will be designed as a water feature and will be generously visible from the entrance hall.

Material

The new building will be bright! The glass facades are full-height and alternate with stainless steel surfaces on the solid parts. The roof surfaces of the underground garage will be greened. The floors in the entrance hall and the dining areas will have natural stone coverings, while the office areas will feature continuous textile floor coverings. The skylobby will have a wooden floor that extends out as a terrace into the roof garden. Walls adjacent to the facades will be made of drywall. Interior walls leading to the corridors can be transparent or opaque in certain areas or covered with wood.

Construction

The structural framework—columns and flat slabs—will be constructed from reinforced concrete. The existing ceiling structures of the existing building will receive a suspended cooling ceiling with a clear room height of approximately 2.85 meters. The conference room will be opened up over two floors, allowing for the seamless integration of technical infrastructure for climate control and media. The roof of the dining area will be designed as a sloped concrete slab, with parts of it being greened.

Principles of Technical Equipment

Minimizing cooling and heating energy requirements, maintaining low operating costs, high daylight utilization, high thermal comfort, and cost-efficiency.

Outdoor Areas

The property will be significantly built upon. The roof of the underground garage will be greened and accessible. Terrace areas in front of the dining areas will be paved or covered with wood. All plants will have shallow roots and be suitable for flat roofs—trees and hedges will have separate planting elements. The courtyard between the building wings will be covered with a pond. Bamboo will be placed in special planting elements within the water area.

ConcreteGlassOfficeSteel

Siteplan
Floorplan 1st-3rd Floor
Floorplan 7th-10th Floor

Data

Competition

2007

Address

Südwall 37 - 41
44137 Dortmund

Awarding Authority

VOLKSWOHL BUND Versicherungen, Dortmund

View
Section
Section

Related projects

Competition Topography of Terror

Berlin

Topography of Terror refers to a site in the center of Berlin, now a scar in the city's layout.

We understand this site as an archaeological search field (archaeology of history). Therefore, we propose using a construction form that can be temporary, follows future excavations, and integrates new findings into the building structure: a systematically designed excavation site organized as a "Matrix"—a system of mathematical dimensions arranged in a schema of horizontal rows and vertical columns (Brockhaus).

A clearly recognizable ordering system spans the entire site like a grid. Measurement points visualize the structuring of the existing terrain through a light system. Within this grid, the Matrix of TT Berlin develops. The proposed construction is inherently temporary—using steel, manageable dimensions, and bolted structures.

The treatment of the exterior surfaces follows the idea of simple spontaneous vegetation. They are left open to nature. The outdoor exhibition is organized as a path. The edges are sculpturally treated and closed. Instead of a traditional fence, a steel sculpture (Uecker: "Nail Pictures") will control access to the site.

Visitors can enter and exit this "open house" at many points. The program is therefore organized along a linear path that is climate-controlled and allows for easy orientation.

The Martin-Gropius-Bau has been preserved as a significant building and today defines the location through its inherent presence. The proportionality of the new building is derived from the facade of the Martin-Gropius-Bau.

The chosen system is modular. It is not a finished house but is changeable and expandable. It allows for growth or for a more modest and reduced "work in progress." The construction should be maximally reduced and slim. The connection elements—supports, beams, and purlins—are standardized and simple in processing and application.

The energy concept provides for a slim and simultaneously sustainable energy and technical supply. High-quality thermal insulation reduces thermal losses and minimizes the need for building technology. Natural ventilation and exhaust are achieved through a simple exhaust system, which is also used for cooling (night ventilation) in summer.

Single-story construction, high prefabrication, minimal fire protection requirements, small structural dimensions, standardized structural elements, and the possible omission of vertical access cores and elevator systems result in low construction costs. The saved budget is invested in additional space offerings.

PublicSteel

Siteplan

Data

Competition

2006

Address

Niederkirchnerstraße 8
10963 Berlin

Awarding Authority

Bundesamt für Bauwesen und Raumordnung;
Stiftung Topographie des Terrors

Floorplan
Views
Detail

Related projects

Competition Cartoon Corridor

Dalian, China

The Cartoon Corridor, developed as part of a joint venture with Prof. Harald Deilmann (Münster), extends the port of the north-eastern Chinese city of Dalian to include extensive campus areas, thus creating new qualities of stay on the peninsula.

Dalian – A Continuously Growing City

With its militarily significant port documented as early as the 6th century, the region quickly gained influence as a trading city and continues to grow steadily. To make the identity of the place tangible and to continue integrating it into the evolving urban structure, the Cartoon Corridor redefines the port as a "water city" and expands the area with large spaces for a Maritime University, hotel facilities for university guests and other visitors, as well as exhibition and conference areas.

Due to the expansion of long and primarily monotonous connecting roads to develop the peninsula, there was a need to enhance the quality of stay for pedestrian traffic as well.

Urban Framework Plan

The competition entry utilizes the existing sightlines framed by existing street canyons along Huangpu Rd and develops them with a "Green Band" that accompanies the street layout, calming the area and isolating it from the eight-lane expressway. Thoughtfully placed solitaires are integrated into the emerging "water city" like large stones. This arrangement of various sightlines enhances the pedestrian experience and provides space for the diverse campus area, which stretches across the expressway with long bridges connecting the buildings.

HotelInfrastructureMixedOfficePublic

Data

Competition

2005

Address

Huangpu Rd
116086 Dalian (Ganjingzi District), Liaoning
China

Siteplan
Floorplan
View

Related projects

Competition Ningbo Tower

Ningbo, China

Ningbo, located about 200 km south of Shanghai, is historically shaped by Chinese tradition, British colonial rule, and recent engagement with the political West. The urban traces of this history are evident in the juxtaposition of different building typologies.

Our client, the leading privately organized company for educational materials in China and a private school operator, requires a new headquarters. The project involves 10,000 square meters of office space and 25,000 square meters of retail space, to be developed at the intersection of the colonial city edge and contemporary Chinese urban development of the past twenty years.

The corporate culture focuses on traditional values and natural resources. Consequently, we proposed a building with a rational structural system and flexible floor plan organization. The façade is an artificial representation of a stone or rock, reflecting the company’s culture. It is constructed from pigmented reinforced concrete and features box windows inserted at regular intervals.

The energy concept integrates geothermal and waste heat from the shopping center in the three podium levels, as well as from the office floors, combined with component activation. This approach allows for a single-layer concrete skin with minimal weight, simplifying connection points. As a result, the extension of multi-story façade sections beyond the regular façade plane is easily achievable.

ConcreteOfficeRetailSteel

Data

Competition

2005

Address

315000 Ningbo,
Provinz Zhejiang
China

Awarding Authority

Privat

View West
Section
View South

Related projects

Dortmund Central Station

Dortmund

What could a train station look like that is not just a transit point, but a gateway to the city?

Dortmund needs a new central station. The existing station is frequented by around 130,000 visitors every day. In its existing form, it is dysfunctional and does not meet the requirements of a modern station building. A new building should also provide a convenient link between the city center and Nordstadt. As a result of the topographical conditions, a height difference of approx. 20m must be bridged. The city center is approx. 20m higher than the northern part of the city.

For this reason, we are proposing a linear station, a very wide footbridge on the city center elevation. It crosses the tracks at a height of approx. 10m. From here, all platforms can be reached directly via stairs, moving walkways or elevators. Retail and gastronomy as well as rail-related services, waiting areas, play areas and informal meeting places will be installed on this footbridge. The Ponte Vecchio in Florence could serve as a reference, but here these areas are fully covered.

The linear station ends on a generously dimensioned forecourt on the north side of the station area. Here, Vis-á-vis houses are being built for access and vertical distribution, for work, gastronomy, leisure, medical services and other services. All new structures and components are developed from basic geometric shapes. These compact buildings will become the prelude to the adjoining urban quarter. They thus play an important role in the pedestrian access to the station and the city.

GlassInfrastructureMixedPublicSteel

Daten

Address

Königswall 14
44137 Dortmund

Site Plan
Detail scheme
Southern Square
Northern Square

Related projects

Competition Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts

Dalian, China

Luxun Academy is establishing its 9th campus in Dalian, Northern China. On a main usable area of approximately 250,000 square meters, the new campus will feature university facilities, a gallery for public exhibitions of student work, a library, a sports center, a shopping mall, around 2,500 student apartments, and approximately 500 residences for faculty members. The site has a topographical rise of about 20 meters in the north-south direction and is also intersected by two conical hills.

The concept incorporates a stream running through the site, which will be extended with smaller weirs to create larger water surfaces. This stream becomes a symbolic representation of the idea - "Life is a river - everything flows" - with the various academic institutions gathering at its edges, like driftwood along the riverbanks.

The uses are tiered, following the rising terrain from the south, with all residential buildings oriented to the south for comfort and energy efficiency. The roofs of the institutes are designed as "skywalks," connected by bridges between the residential areas. The faculty apartments are organized in clusters, featuring courtyards, stairs, and decentralized sports courts (basketball).At the center, the library tower will be constructed as the only high-rise building in the ensemble. It will have a uniformly perforated concrete facade and offer views of the surrounding landscape and the Chinese sea.

LivingMixedPublic

Awards

2.Prize

International Invitational Competition

Data

Competition

2005

Address

19 Sanhao Street
110055 Shenyang
Liaoning, China

Awarding Authority

The International Art Education Exchange Center of Luxun Academy of Fine Arts

Siteplan
Student Apartments
Section Library
Section
Section Art Museum
View

Related projects

Competition Stadion Union Berlin

Berlin

UNION BERLIN is getting a new stadium on the same site—a historic location that has shaped the extraordinary closeness between the club and its fans. In Wuhlheide, situated between the Wuhle and the forest, a pure football arena has been in use for decades. The characteristic spatial proximity between the pitch and the stands is enhanced and atmospherically intensified in the proposed design through the geometry of the new structure.

A stadium transforms into a theater—a pitch becomes a stage— and the stands turn into seating tiers and boxes with areas for dining, merchandising, infrastructure, and more.

The new stadium is optimized for marketing capabilities (media/advertising) and third-party usage options (additional uses).

All spectator seats will be covered. The roof covering will be translucent, colored, and will thus serve as a signal. The roof membrane extends into the facade plane of the top gallery, creating the appearance of a floating, luminous object.

The primary structure consists of prefabricated reinforced concrete elements, while the roof framework is made of a steel truss with V-shaped supports and rear guy wires. This design ensures that all seating rows are free of supports and unobstructed. Lighting, sound systems, and drainage are integrated into the construction. The surfaces available for advertising are maximized and optimally aligned with camera positions. These include the perimeter boards, the interior and exterior edges of the roof surfaces, the surrounding areas of the upper and lower galleries, VIP boxes, and the exterior of the textile facade (which can display changing illuminated advertisements), among others. In addition to conventional camera positions, the upper gallery will serve as the main camera location, with options available at any point.

ConcretePublicSteel

Awards

1.Prize

Data

Competition

2003

Address

An der Wuhlheide 263
12555 Berlin
Germany

Awarding Authority

Senate of the City of Berlin
with FC Union Berlin

Related projects

Friedrich-List-Platz

Leipzig

The first reinforced concrete building in Leipzig housed the "Leipziger Textil Center" (LTC) until 1996. The usage was discontinued in favor of high-density development on this site at the edge of Leipzig’s city center. On approximately 57,000 square meters at the city’s edge, offices, shops, 120 apartments, and about 400 parking spaces were created.

The buildings were all constructed using in-situ concrete with round columns and flat slabs. The floor plans are flexible and can be divided into units starting from 150 square meters. All surface water is collected and directed into ponds located in the three courtyards.

Among the tenants are Leipzig-TV with offices, studios, and production spaces, a private school, and a number of medium-sized businesses.

ConcreteGlassOfficeSteel

Awards

1. Prize
Appraisal Procedure

Data

Completion

2001

Address

Friedrich-List-Platz 1
04103 Leipzig
Germany

Client

Büll & Dr. Liedke
Hamburg

Related projects

Competition Park Stadium Schalke

Gelsenkirchen

This project emerged from an expert report. In the course of modernizing and making German stadiums more flexible, which are increasingly hosting events beyond sports, the Bundesliga football club Schalke 04 plans to replace its Parkstadion with a new building that combines a stadium and a multifunctional arena.

However, a solution was not only required for the demanding combination of functions but also for the challenge of constructing a new building on the site of the old stadium while matches continue to be played. The architects developed a new type of stadium in response to these requirements—one that combines an open-air arena with an indoor hall, while also breaking with the traditional design of earlier stadiums, which used to present only the closed backs of their stands to the surrounding area.

Realized in multiple construction phases, which at times connected parts of the old stadium with the new one, the result is an airy building that opens up in many ways to its surroundings, offering visitors changing perspectives of both the field and the exterior space. Unlike the conventional closed ring of stands, it is composed of several segments freely placed in the space, allowing for a maximum degree of prefabrication and modular assembly on-site, which also significantly reduces construction time. To avoid costly turf covers or the well-known method of sliding the pitch out of the stadium—both of which would have substantially increased operating costs and been difficult due to ground subsidence issues—the stadium here transforms into an arena by raising the pitch.

For this purpose, shipbuilding technology is employed: hydraulic heavy-lift systems, located at four points in the stadium's corners, raise the pitch by 40 meters in half an hour, allowing it to function as a roof. A seven-meter-high walkable steel grating forms its supporting structure, containing all the lighting and acoustic installations of an indoor hall.

Designed as a flexible modular system, the sports arena can accommodate between 60,000 and 70,000 spectators. Efficiently utilizing the existing topography of a ground hollow as a central distribution level, the arena opens up with seamless transitions to the surrounding space. Attached to the minimized primary structure of the concrete stands is a framework of slender steel rods, whose translucent textile skins and louvered glass panels offer varied views in and out of the stadium. While all auxiliary areas are directly adjacent to the field and thus hidden from view, the continuous gallery level on the earth berm and the opening of the side facades through vertical gates allow for free circulation between the landscape and the building.

Supported by graceful V-columns and differentiated gaps between structural bays, the arena achieves an engaging rhythmic composition. The interplay of variously materialized spatial layers creates a dualistic space, offering the closest proximity to the action on the field while seamlessly opening up to the surrounding landscape.

Data

Competition

1996

Address

Parkallee 3
45891 Gelsenkirchen
Germany

Organizer

FC Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e.V.

Floorplan
Section

Related projects