1st prize for the team HDR Architects with Latz+Partner, nees Engineers GmbH and Bollinger+Grohmann

East of Erfurt’s main railway station, a modern and flexible office building is to be built, which will meet the new requirements of the working world. The Deutsche Bahn property is to bring centralisation of organisational units in the region and is to be designed as a quarter for communication, services and creative industries.
The central open space will be designed as a generous, continuous and liveable public space. In order to bring as much light as possible into this urban space and visually link it with the surrounding street spaces, it is designed to be easily visible, attractive and socially controllable. At the same time, numerous trees that have been placed in a free-standing position prevent heating up and offer a special quality of recreation. A continuous two-lane road with flat sides allows for a common and orderly use by busses and cyclists and allows pedestrians to stay on the surrounding areas without conflict.
By connecting the open space and the ground floor of the new building via continuous slab and paved surfaces, a large public space is created. This is supported by tree plantings, which also extend into the interior. Outside areas of the canteen and cafeteria as well as the roof terraces of the new buildings serve as central meeting points and retreats. In order to ensure the connection to the nearby creative quarter, stairways will be installed and the open spaces in the south-east will also be used for sports facilities.

Evaluation of the jury for the 1st prize:
“The design authors are convincing with the approach of the “Erfurt block edge” in the urban development context and the simultaneous modular resolution towards the block interior, the so-called central market place. Here, charmingly significant and climate-neutral urban greenery dominates the central public space, which integrates pleasantly necessary traffic functions (public transport, bicycle parking). … The overall design, with its integration into the urban and landscape space, also convinces for interim periods during the growth of the ICE-City East through its sustainable and energy-efficient approach and can be realised and operated economically.”

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