Opening, Carmen Würth Forum, Künzelsau by David Chipperfield
21/07/2017.
Starting on July 18th, 2017 [Künzelsau] Germany
metalocus, INÉS LALUETA
metalocus, INÉS LALUETA
The architecture studio led by David Chipperfield has completed the construction of the first stage of the "Forum Carmen Würth", which will host a large space for events and a smaller chamber music room.
In the second phase of the project, a conference center and a museum for the Würth art collection will be built.
In the second phase of the project, a conference center and a museum for the Würth art collection will be built.
Carmen Würth Forum by David Chipperfield. Photograph @ Simon Menges
Carmen Würth Forum by David Chipperfield. Photograph @ Simon Menges
Carmen Würth Forum by David Chipperfield. Photograph @ Simon Menges
Carmen Würth Forum by David Chipperfield. Photograph @ Simon Menges
Carmen Würth Forum by David Chipperfield. Photograph @ Simon Menges
Carmen Würth Forum by David Chipperfield. Photograph @ Simon Menges
Carmen Würth Forum by David Chipperfield. Photograph @ Simon Menges
Carmen Würth Forum by David Chipperfield. Photograph @ Simon Menges
Carmen Würth Forum by David Chipperfield. Photograph @ Simon Menges
Carmen Würth Forum by David Chipperfield. Photograph @ Simon Menges
Carmen Würth Forum by David Chipperfield. Photograph @ Simon Menges
Carmen Würth Forum by David Chipperfield. Photograph @ Simon Menges
Carmen Würth Forum by David Chipperfield. Photograph @ Simon Menges
Carmen Würth Forum by David Chipperfield. Photograph @ Simon Menges
Site plan, first and second stage of construction. Carmen Würth Forum by David Chipperfield.
Site plan. Carmen Würth Forum by David Chipperfield.
Ground floor plan. Carmen Würth Forum by David Chipperfield.
Lower ground floor plan. Carmen Würth Forum by David Chipperfield.
First floor plan. Carmen Würth Forum by David Chipperfield.
Lobby. Theater. Carmen Würth Forum by David Chipperfield.
Cross section. Carmen Würth Forum by David Chipperfield.
Longitudinal section. Carmen Würth Forum by David Chipperfield.
Surrounded by open fields and really near of the main office complex, David Chipperfield Architects is building the "Carmen Würth Forum".
A building for Adolf Würth, one of the world's largest distributors of assembly and fastening materials, based in Künzelsau, southern Germany.
A building for Adolf Würth, one of the world's largest distributors of assembly and fastening materials, based in Künzelsau, southern Germany.
Description of the project by David Chipperfield
The new building is embedded in the landscape, with the chamber-music hall and the lower level of the event hall hidden beneath a natural mound. Incisions in the hillside establish two framed external spaces. These are flanked by retaining walls, made of concrete, poured in-situ and in layers that make reference to the sediment strata of the site. The larger southern forecourt leads to the main entrance and serves as a forum for diverse outdoor events, such as open-air concerts. The multi-purpose event hall, which is accessed from a naturally lit foyer, provides space for 3,500 people, and has a trussed-steel roof that obviates the need for internal columns. While the lower half of the hall is sunk into the ground, the upper gallery level rises above the highest point of the site and is glazed on all sides.
The foyer also provides access to the more intimate chamber music hall, which from the outside is only perceptible as a modulation of the landscape. This hall seats up to 600 people and is completely clad in walnut. The company’s corporate colour of red runs throughout the design of the interior spaces, appearing in the seating of the chamber music hall as well as in the flooring of both the foyer and the event hall. Sculptures from the collection of Reinhold Würth enrich the green spaces surrounding the building. A conference centre and a museum for the Würth art collection are to follow in a second construction stage.
More information
Architects
Partners
David Chipperfield, Harald Müller, Martin Reichert, Alexander Schwarz (Design lead)
Project Architect
Annette Flohrschütz, Christian Helfrich, Thomas Schöpf
Site supervision
Kraft + Kraft Architekten
Collaborators
Structural engineer.- RPB Rückert GmbH. Services engineer.- ZB Zimmermann und Becker GmbH. Building physics.- Müller-BBM GmbH. Façade consultant.- Reba Fassadentechnik AG. Landscape architect.- realgrün Landschaftsarchitekten. Project management.- Drees & Sommer AG
Dates
Competition.- 2006 – 2007. Project start.- 2011. Construction start.- 2015. Completion due.- 2017
Gross floor area
11,000 m²
Client
Adolf Würth GmbH & Co. KG
David Chipperfield
David Chipperfield was born in London in 1953 and studied architecture at the Kingston School of Art and the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London before working at the practices of Douglas Stephen, Richard Rogers and Norman Foster.
In 1985 he founded David Chipperfield Architects, which today has over 300 staff at its offices in London, Berlin, Milan and Shanghai.
David Chipperfield has taught and held conferences in Europe and the United States and has received honorary degrees from the universities of Kingston and Kent.
He is a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and an honorary fellow of both the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the Bund Deutscher Architekten (BDA). In 2009 he was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany and in 2010 he received a knighthood for services to architecture in the UK and Germany. In 2011 he received the RIBA Royal Gold Medal for Architecture and in 2013 the Praemium Imperiale from the Japan Art Association, while in 2021 he was appointed a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour in recognition of a lifetime’s work.
In 2012 he curated the 13th International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale.
