Four very different buildings were honored equally as the best concrete buildings in Germany.
The plot of land that architect Wolfgang Zeh built in Cologne was not much larger than a towel. The vacant lot into which the house was pressed was just 3.5 meters wide. It was built like in the sixties. “The house didn't see a crane, nor a concrete pump. A bucket and a cable winch are sufficient for concreting ”, writes author Oliver Herwig in the book“ The best concrete structures 2020 ”.
House in the vacant lot
The house itself measures three by ten meters. The stacked rooms are connected by a staircase. Downstairs is the anteroom and work is underway, in the middle are the bedrooms, and at the top is the living space with a roof terrace. “The house wants to be hiked, to be climbed,” says the book for the award of the best concrete buildings in Germany.
Award
The house in the gap is one of the four equally ranked winners of the best concrete buildings in Germany, awarded by the Information Center Concrete in cooperation with the Association of German Architects (BDA) and awarded for the 21st time. An interdisciplinary jury decided on the award of the 25,000 euro prize. 143 projects were submitted. “They prove the high quality and range of current concrete architecture in Germany,” summarizes Ulrich Nolting, Managing Director of the InformationsZentrum Beton and member of the jury.
James Simon Gallery
The James-Simon-Galerie in Berlin by David Chipperfield Architects Berlin also received an award. The gallery was named after the patron who donated over 10,000 works of art, including the world-famous bust of Nefertiti. The new cube-shaped gallery with slim supports is part of Berlin's Museum Island. It impresses with the bright rooms, which were designed with exposed concrete inside.
High flight of stairs in front of the building
“The entrance building is the central hub of the museum landscape, packed full of functions. It connects the information and checkout areas, cloakrooms, museum shop, café and restaurant with an auditorium for 300 visitors, ”writes the author. The house has three main floors, a mezzanine (with cloakrooms, lockers, toilets and the museum shop) and a basement. The high flight of stairs in front of the main entrance of the building is a particular eye-catcher.
Württemberg State Library
The other winners are the extension of the Württemberg State Library in Stuttgart and the terrace house in Berlin. The extension of the Württemberg State Library in Stuttgart became necessary because the existing building was reaching its limits. The architects Lederer Ragnarsdóttir Oei were able to prevail with their design for the extension with an exposed concrete facade. The new building is connected to the existing building by a walkway. Energy is obtained from geothermal energy and a heat exchanger in the wastewater.
Terrace house in Berlin
The “Lobe Terrace House” in Berlin is an experiment by the Brandlhuber + Emde, Burlon / Muck Petzet Architects. The five-storey reinforced concrete house has wide open stairs where the residents meet and which also represent open spaces. The concrete surfaces are deliberately unpolished and raw.
Book tip
“The Best Concrete Buildings 2020” by Oliver Herwig has been published by Callwey Verlag. The buildings are described in detail on 184 pages with texts, plans and photos. € 51.40
