Rudolfplatz

Competition 2nd Prize - Cologne, 2015

Urban Planning and History:

What do we want to remember and address?
What do we want to anticipate?

Design Approach:

The urbanistic approach of our design gives answers to these questions and can only succeed if:
– the historical city walls will be remembered,
– the entrance will re-experience the city,
– a new sign will mark the exit of the city,
– the historic east-west axis and the ring will be perceived.

The historic Hahnenburgtor occupies a key role in this proposition as it is important to respect this monument. Therefore, the distribution of building materials is done with great caution. Additionally, the eave along Hahnestrasse is deliberately lower than the height of the Hahnenburgtor. The elevation of the building continues the line of the former city wall, completing the east-west axis of the city.

As a counterpoint to the high-rise hotel building parallel with the ring, our proposition has a highly visible accent. This allows passers-by to turn their gaze towards the city center, experiencing the transition of the East-West Passage. From this point, the rotating masses transition downward, complementing each other to form a series of new entities.

The draft takes into account the required stages of expansion that build on each other in this solution. The gross floor areas within these designs range from 17,000 to 24,000 m2 GFA.