1st price in competition “Urban District Central Freight Station Braunschweig”
The architectural firm prasch buken partner architects bda and GHP Landscape Architects have won the 1st prize in the urban planning competition “Urban Quarter Main Freight Station Braunschweig.” In an urban planning and open space design competition, the city administration invited urban planners and architects with landscape architects to engage in a collegial competition. The city organized the competition in cooperation with Aurelis Asset GmbH and IntReal International Real Estate Kapitalverwaltungsgesellschaft mbH, represented by LIP Invest GmbH as the largest property owners in the area. The competition jury selected the winning design on Tuesday, March 7th, from among 19 interdisciplinary teams from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
City Building Director Heinz-Georg Leuer praised the winning design by the collaboration of prasch buken partner architects bda and GHP Landscape Architects, Nikolaus Gurr + Christian Schierstedt, as a bold response to the given task: “With the winning design, the railway district receives a strong start, also for further developments in the surrounding area.” The jury highlighted the robust urban planning characterized by “finely differentiated block structures with an appropriate granularity and a good differentiation between public and private space.” An intensive green space encloses the existing cultural hall and extends into the center of the urban quarter. The competition area is well-structured and connected with the surroundings. The design also stands out for creating spaces not only for housing but also for crafts and noise-intensive industries, forming a true “Urban Quarter.” “DIE H_LLE,” a versatile former timber storage hall, serves as an important existing cultural element at the center of the design and can contribute significantly to identity formation. According to the jury, the winning design creates a new quarter as a “unique piece with an experimental approach,” characterized by innovation, creativity, and experimentation in both urban planning and open space design as well as in the usage concept.
