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.
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.
The Kluse suspended railroad station in Wuppertal, which was destroyed during World War II, is being rebuilt at its historic location near the Schauspielhaus theater. Since several urban pathways intersect at this point, Petersen Architects placed great emphasis on urban significance and integration in their station design.
The lower distribution level serves as an additional public space during the day, illuminated by the translucent platforms above. These platforms are made of slip-resistant, walkable glass [Litefloor].
The entire structural framework is divided into longitudinal planar structures, which are stiffened by compression pipes both at the platform level and above the tracks, as well as by cable tensioning. Each structural frame consists of a pair of cantilevered external supports, inclined in alignment with the frames of the track carriers. These supports bear the facade and are shaped according to their bending loads. Together with a story-high truss below the distribution level, they form a tensioned structural system.
In front of the single-glazed facade, perforated metal panels are hung at a distance, serving as glare and sun protection. The steel frames of these panels are mounted on sliding mechanisms and can be lowered down to the access level to lock and secure the station, giving the structure a different appearance at night.
