Forum: terra nova

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Forum entrance facade: terra nova
Forum: terra nova, construction site in June 2011
Construction board
Forum ː terra nova - visitor center, November 2017
Terra Nova viewing platform, November 2017

The forum: terra nova is a multifunctional building on the northern edge of the Hambach opencast mine in the Rhineland , which was built in the area of ​​the city of Elsdorf and opened on May 25, 2012. The forum, which is part of the : terra nova project as part of the Regionale 2010 , serves as a visitor information center and as a viewing platform for the Hambach opencast mine.

The groundbreaking ceremony, at which North Rhine-Westphalia's Prime Minister Jürgen Rüttgers and Elsdorf Mayor Wilfried Effertz were also present, took place on May 3, 2010.

The RWE Power has invested around four million euros in the construction of the Forum.

location

The building is located on the north-eastern edge of the open-cast mine, near the Berrendorf-Wüllenrath district of Elsdorf . It is part of a new landscape park that is to be created in the course of the open pit along the huge pit. In this so-called time park, the building is to become the central point of contact for visitors. It is designed as a house for exhibitions and events of all kinds. At the same time, in conjunction with the newly created dune landscape of the outdoor facilities, it should act as a “spectacular” vantage point into the open pit that “wanders by” until a large lake or lake landscape is to emerge at the end of the century.

Lookout point and information center

Width, scale, layers of the earth, earth movement, landscape transformation and energy generation are the terms with which the ideas for this building and its outdoor facilities can be described:

“First a massive stone block pushes through the crust of the earth. The cracked layers of earth from which it pushed itself up are still visible, the meadow continues to grow on the roof. Before that, the surface of the earth seems to anticipate future events: parallel to the edge of the break, rectangular areas of different sizes rise and fall, the crumb that has grown rises, and the layers below become visible. The gigantic pit for lignite mining is soon being built in front of this site: huge machines are working closer and closer, noise and dust dominate the landscape. A sharp landscape edge is created. And a long time later, this enormous damage to the earth's surface under the floods of one of the largest inland lakes in Europe can only be guessed at. The moving surface of the earth slowly disappears under a carpet of grass that is growing ever more densely, the massive stone block is covered in moss, vegetation breaks. "

This scenario developed in the competition design forms the background for the work by the architect Dirk Lüderwaldt and the landscape architect Dirk Melzer from Cologne for the terra nova forum, which was awarded first prize in an international architectural competition.

The explanations for the competition concept also state: “Located at the interface between lignite mining and the future landscape park, the new information building forms a large window to the opencast mine and later to the lake. The moving open space in front of it becomes a viewing platform and stage for a variety of activities: - Observation of the change in landscape directly at the edge for dismantling (telescope avenue); - Start, end or intermediate stop on the walk through the 'Gardens of Technology'; - Starting and ending point of excursions through the opencast mine site; - picnic by day or at sunset; - Part of a nature trail; - Concerts, shows and exhibitions.

The building opens up generously to the open space on the ground floor, while the two-story atrium becomes a multifunctional center. A slowly ascending staircase and an elevator lead up to the back of the building to the tour through the exhibition level: two closed exhibition halls, only illuminated by skylights, are connected by a narrow corridor, the funnel-shaped openings of which allow a focused view over to the opencast mine and later to the lake thus feedback on the exhibition themes. "

architecture

The construction and appearance of the building are the result of careful interdisciplinary planning and the experimental development of novel construction methods under the leadership of the lüderwaldt architects from Cologne. The foundation is designed in such a way that any earth movements that may occur from the immediately adjacent open-cast mine can be absorbed by hydraulic bearings. The facade consists of exposed concrete in horizontal layers. The color was adapted to the layers of earth emerging in the opencast mine, and the surface was then roughly milled so that the building lies in the landscape like a block of stone pushed out of the earth. Even the surrounding meadow continues to grow on the roof. The interior of the building is characterized by carefully smooth exposed concrete surfaces and precisely fitted expansion elements made of veneered wooden panels. The round viewing windows are padded with leather on the inside. The two-storey atrium is spanned by a steel and glass construction specially developed for the building. Here, like a chessboard, transparent glass surfaces alternate with closed fields clad with photovoltaic elements at the top and translucent, luminous light ceilings below. Daylight and artificial light can be computer-controlled to compose user-friendly light scenarios. The heat is supplied via swamp water that is passed through the building , from which the necessary energy is extracted by means of a heat exchanger.

  • Gastronomy area in the forum

  • Partial view of the permanent exhibition

  • Part of the permanent exhibition with touchscreen info display

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ TERRA NOVA eye-catcher on the edge of the mine . Cologne city indicator. May 25, 2012. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
  2. ↑ terra nova news . Regional 2010 Agency - Location Marketing Region Cologne / Bonn GmbH. May 3, 2010. Retrieved August 12, 2012.

Coordinates: 50 ° 54 ′ 54.6 "  N , 6 ° 35 ′ 29.8"  E