New building for the adult education center in Dortmund
Recognition for SHA
The decision has been made: SHA Scheffler Helbich Architekten GmbH is delighted to have been recognized in the planning competition for a new building for Dortmund’s adult education center. “Even if it was unfortunately not enough for the top places, we are very pleased about the recognition and congratulate all the prize winners!!”, says Marc Horstmeier, authorized signatory at SHA.
“The VHS complex to be designed, consisting of new and old buildings, should do justice to the special urban planning situation, be oriented towards the height development of the surrounding area in terms of storeys and reflect the VHS room program” – This was the brief for the planning competition launched in 2018. The building between Brinkhoffstraße and Königswall, directly opposite the Dortmunder U, is to become a place of encounter, togetherness and knowledge transfer.
“Our idea for the new VHS complex was to develop a joint whole from the existing building and the new building, which with its calm basic form naturally into the heterogeneous surroundings and mediates in the urban context. The building fills a gap in the urban fabric and closes missing spatial edges without dominating them.
Inside, the required room program is organized around a bright atrium, which serves as a central meeting and orientation point for all users of the building and at the same time offers flexible communication, learning and opportunity spaces“, says Horstmeier.
In addition, SHA’s planning envisaged the new VHS as a passive house standard building in order to reduce life cycle costs with an integrated architectural-technical concept. life cycle costs and to do justice to the exemplary character of a public building.
Background:
The new VHS Dortmund building, which incorporates the existing listed building at Königswall 29, has become urgently necessary because the existing VHS location (“Löwenhof” on Hansastrasse), which has been in existence since 1997, is to be abandoned. There are serious structural defects there. The building can already no longer be used to its full extent, so VHS Dortmund only recently moved into new temporary premises on Kampstraße – and is still struggling with a lack of space.
A total of 20 offices were selected from a total of 134 applications from Germany and abroad in a preliminary EU-wide application process and invited to take part in the planning competition. 18 offices submitted their work anonymously and on time.
The first prize for this construction task was awarded to the office “B+P Reiner Becker GmbH” from Berlin. This was decided by the jury at the beginning of March after intensive examination and discussion. The second prize went to “Bowlin Wulf Architekten Partnerschaft mbB”, also an office from the capital. The jury awarded third prize to “bertbielefeld & partner architekten und ingenieure” from Dortmund. In addition to the awards for the three winning designs, the committee expressly recognized the designs of two other competition participants. In addition to SHA, these are dreibund architekten ballerstedt | helms | koblank BDA PartG mbB from Bochum. The jury meeting was chaired by Prof. Christa Reicher, architect and urban planner from Aachen/Dortmund.
Further negotiations will now take place with the three award winners within the framework of the procurement regulations. The decision on awarding the contract is then made.
