Ice rink, Schierke

Wettbewerb - Competition, 2. Preis


Indoor swimming pool, Stuttgart

Wettbewerb - Competition, Anerkennung


Arena Krakau

EU - offener Wettbewerb - EU - wide competition


Expo canopies North, Hannover

The canopies at the north entrance date back to a design for a bus station in Oldenburg from 1996 that was never implemented. Whereas
the canopies in the 1996 design were connected and thus stabilised each other, the competition for the temporary EXPO shelters called for freestanding roofs measuring 15 x 5 metres. Our freestanding canopies, which are convincingly protected against being lifted by the wind by tension rods and double curved membranes, won first prize in the competition and it was recommended that they
be carried out. However, in integrating them into the urban planning concept of the EXPO, they turned out to be too large. Freestanding canopies covering only one quarter of the area seemed more suitable for the avenues leading to the national pavilions. A second competition therefore followed, which we also won. However, the large canopies were still viewed as a solution to the question of how to accentuate and enhance the north entrance to the EXPO. In contrast to the smaller EXPO canopies, these ones were to be permanently retained as an entrance to the trade fair. This required a structural design that takes snow loads into account, as well as the use of a durable PTFE membrane. As we wanted to retain the existing grid of the forecourt, which is structured in large squares, we adapted the dimensions to this grid and reduced the size of the canopies to 11.30 x 11.30 metres. The canopies were used here both as freestanding elements and linked to provided larger sheltered areas. The clear accentuation of the individual module, even where several canopies are connected, was achieved by changing from a translucent to a transparent surface at the edge profiles, which take the form of horizontal lattice beams.

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Plaza-Café, Hannover

The important north–south axis on the EXPO grounds crosses the EXPO Plaza and needed a terminating feature at its northern end. At the same time, this location forms a virtual junction with the avenue running east-west in the western part of the EXPO grounds and therefore demanded a widely visible accent. The only planned function was a building for a café, and even here there were lengthy difficulties in finding someone to take on this venture. As a consequence, at the beginningof 2000, shortly before the opening of the EXPO, the implementation of the Plaza Café was still a matter of doubt. As a result of this situation, the design was shaped by the requirements of the time framework and the location: a building visible from afar that, if the decision to go ahead with it was made, could be erected in the shortest of periods and at a low cost. By placing the main areas on three terraced levels, a building height was achieved that, in urban planning terms, closes the space of the Plaza. The concept for the construction was developed by using the distance between the trees forming the two avenues as a construction grid. Originally, so that the building would terminate the axis and the square even more effectively, a hovering balloon the size of the crown of a tree was to be fixed above each column. This idea was later abandoned in favour of a tall stele that is illuminated at night. The café is entirely a steel structure and was erected in just 75 days. As the contracts with the people who run the business were only signed shortly after the start of building, the café had to be adapted during the construction
period to meet the new requirements of a restaurant with a full kitchen and three separate dining spaces. The restaurant, along with the terraces, can seat up to 400 people. The terraces are protected from rain by a glass roof.

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Pavilion of the Vatican, Hannover

The intention was that, after the world‘s fair,this EXPO pavilion would be disassembled, transported, and reerected as a church and community centre in Liepaja, Latvia. This led to the development of a modular timber system with a jointing technique that simplifies and facilitates the processes of erecting and disassembling the building. On the EXPO site, the main entrance to the pavilion is oriented towards the circulation axis of the national pavilions. The entrance is emphasised by the verticality of a bell tower that does not stand alone but was integrated in the rectangular plan of the pavilion. The pavilion, designed as a kit of parts, combines all functions in a flexible way under a single roof. The exhibition space encloses a calm courtyard with a form intended to recall the cloisters of old monasteries. On one side, it rises in steps to create a sacred space that formed the top attraction of the exhibition. This sacred space, later to become the church in Liepaja, reaches the same height as the bell tower and with it forms the main façade looking towards the EXPO grounds. The courtyard and cloister areas offers an area of calm and reflection in contrast to the bustling surroundings of the world fair. The intentionwas that on special occasions the courtyard would be opened up along the entire side facing towards the EXPO, that is, towards the axis leading to the national pavilions. On such occasions, the large screens made of wooden louvres could be swung upward to form a kind of roof canopy. The entire building is made up of 3.60-metrelong elements; larger spans are handled using inclined supports and trusses, giving the large exhibition hall a certain sense of scale and a sacred character. Glass elements alternating with closed panels, both measuring 120 x 360 centimetres,were intended to form a lively façade suited to the particular concept of the exhibition as well as the subsequent function in Liepaja.

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trade fair hall 8/9, Hannover

Since Hall 8/9 is differently and more centrally positioned on the EXPO site than Hall 13, a symmetrical building form was required. The structure of the light fish-belly shaped girders was supplemented by curved grid shells hung between them, functioning primarily as a hanging roof but also developing their shell
effect to handle horizontal and unevenly distributed loads. The character of the hall is shaped by the intensive consideration of three issues – energy, ventilation, and lighting – combined with the construction and the building form. The form of the roof with its hanging shells assists the thermal effect and the natural escape of hot air during the summer. At the highest point there are adjustable ventilation louvres that regulate the flow. A guiding panel above these louvres improves the air flow by means of the Venturi effect, while at the same time protecting the opening from rain. Being south-facing and having the air flow behind them, these building elements offer ideal conditions for photovoltaic modules. The northward roof surfaces are glazed at the steepest and highest part of the hall, which is thus lit entirely by diffused light. The relationship between the distance separating the skylights and the height of the space is about 1.5, which achieves an even daylight quotient of over 10 percent.

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Trade fair hall 13, Hannover

The site of the EXPO trade fair hall, with the main east–west avenue of trees in the north and a adjacent low-rise housing development in the south, led to a form for the hall that is dramatically directed towards this avenue. A low height service and storage spine provides the transition to the scale of the housing development in the south. The exposition hall, which measures 105 x 240 metres, is intended to be used for sporting events as well as for exhibitions and there-
fore has to be free of internal columns. So that the hall could be erected in a way that uses resources sparingly despite this requirement, we minimised the structure stepwise with regard to the amount of both material and labour required. In this respect, a cat-enary curve and an arch seemed sensible.

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