Arts & Culture \ Convention Centre, Heidelberg

Limited competition. Unbuilt. 

In 2017 the practice was invited to participate in a limited competition for a new convention centre on the outside of the historic city centre. The site was a semi-derelict area of former railway marshalling yards already being developed to a masterplan. The brief was extremely detailed, very large, and described a building of 14000 sq. m. consisting of a series of exhibition halls of many different sizes, highly flexible and potentially combining with each other catering, underground car parking, exhibitions and major servicing requirements for exhibitors etc.

Our approach was to try and simplify what might have been a bewildering internal plan and to give as much space back to the city by way of an external forecourt and roof garden. A spectacular foyer stretched across the entrance façade and from ground to top floor. Escalators took visitors to the top stopping at the first-floor halls, second-floor halls, the smaller meeting rooms and smaller exhibition spaces on the third floor and finally reaching the roof garden and restaurant on the roof.

It was one of the most complex briefs we have ever had to digest, and we believe the solution was exceptionally elegant. Externally the main façade was quiet and dominated by vertical louvres.