David Chipperfield Architects Berlin . photos: © Ute Zscharnt for David Chipperfield Architects
The headquarters of the company Adolf Würth is situated to the south of the German town of Künzelsau. The Carmen Würth Forum, designed by David Chipperfield Architects Berlin, is being built within its direct vicinity. During a first stage of construction, an event hall and a chamber music hall were completed by July 2017
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The building is embedded in the landscape, characterised by expansive meadows and fields, which it integrates as an architectural theme. Two retaining walls made of bush-hammered, in-situ concrete frame a forecourt in front of the main entrance to the building. This square serves as a forum for diverse outdoor events, such as openair concerts. The main entrance leads into the naturally lit foyer, from where the large event hall is accessed. While the lower level of the hall is sunk into the earth, the upper gallery level, which is glazed on all sides, rises above the highest point of the terrain. The event hall provides space for 3,500 people and can be used for a diverse range of events. The trussed steel construction of the ceiling spans column-free over the entire length of the hall. The adjacent entrance foyer also provides access to the more intimate chamber music hall. This space, which from the outside is only perceptible as a modulation of the landscape, seats up to 580 people.
A conference centre and a museum for the Würth art collection are to follow in a second construction stage.
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Competition:2006–2007
Project start:2011
Completion:2017 (first construction stage)
Gross floor area:10,000 m²
Client:Adolf Würth GmbH & Co. KG
Architect:David Chipperfield Architects Berlin
Partners:David Chipperfield, Harald Müller, Martin Reichert, Alexander Schwarz (Design lead)
Project architects:Annette Flohrschütz, Christian Helfrich, Thomas Schöpf
Project management:Drees & Sommer AG
Contact architect:Kraft + Kraft Architekten
Structural engineer:RPB Rückert GmbH
Services engineer:ZB Zimmermann und Becker GmbH, ibb Burrer & Deuring Ingenieurbüro GmbH
Building physics:Müller-BBM GmbH
Façade consultant:Reba Fassadentechnik AG
Theatre consultant:Bühnenplanung Walter Kottke Ing. GmbH
Acoustic consultant:Müller-BBM GmbH
Fire protection consultant:Halfkann + Kirchner
Landscape architect:realgrün Landschaftsarchitekten
Photography:Ute Zscharnt for David Chipperfield Architects
