Town house (Bonn)

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Town house after dismantling the curtain windows (2019)
Town house before dismantling the curtain windows (around 2005)

The town house in Bonn has been the seat of the city administration since 1978. The 72 m high building is located on Berliner Platz on the southern border of the northern part of the city .

Building history

After the formerly independent cities of Beuel and Bad Godesberg and six former municipalities of the Duisdorf office were incorporated into Bonn in 1969, the need for office space for the city administration increased. Until then , it had been housed in the New and Old Town Hall and at around 50 other locations in the city. Therefore, in the year of incorporation, an architectural competition was announced in which 73 offices took part. The design by the Stuttgart architects Heinle, Wischer and Partner was selected .

Original development on the site of today's town house, corner of Breite Strasse and Meckenheimer Strasse (1909)

The demolition of several streets in the Wilhelminian-era northern city, which was made necessary by the new building , sparked protests. The town house was built between 1973 and 1977, on April 13, 1978 the city council met for the first time in its new council chamber and on May 20, 1978 it was inaugurated. The construction costs totaled 182.5 million DM.

shape

The construction of the town house is based on a uniform grid of 8.40 × 8.40 m. Five tower blocks of different heights are set up above the basement level of the town house, which is designed as a parking garage . The towers, which are square in plan, are arranged in two groups in an approximately circular shape, have between six and seventeen storeys and accommodate open-plan offices. An atrium opens between the towers, roughly in the center of the overall complex. It is spanned by a so-called wind cross, a tubular steel frame construction that has no static function, but is intended to have a positive effect on the microclimate .

A light metal facade with metal-coated sun protection glazing is hung in front of the towers , which gives the building a different effect depending on the time of day and the weather. In front of the parapets of the individual floors, glass panels were attached as curtain panels until 2013, each of which protruded by around 20 cm and gave the facade a characteristic relief-like structure. From October 2013 to February 2014 and from June to August 2014 the curtain windows were dismantled for safety reasons due to material fatigue. The towers' facades are closed at the top by a technical floor, the metal cladding of which is laid out along with a surrounding band of ventilation openings in the manner of an attic . The five main structures are accompanied by stairwells and elevator shafts, which are completely clad in metal and, in contrast to the office towers, are provided with rounded corners and distinctive, beveled crowns.

  • Facade from the soffit

  • Wind cross in the atrium

  • Facade effect in the evening sun

  • Aerial view from the west

Urban integration

View of Bonn city center from the banks of the Rhine in Beuel (the town hall on the right)
The town house - a dominant feature of urban planning

The town house was part of a planned high-rise ensemble close to the city ​​center , which was not fully realized. The design followed the idea of ​​an “ urban dominant” typical of post-war modern architecture , a focal point visible from afar and an ideal center, which was probably also intended as a communal counterpart to the former high-rise building representing the federal government in Gronau (the so-called Langen Eugen ). The intended marking effect arises primarily on Oxfordstrasse up to Bertha-von-Suttner-Platz . Viewed from the Beuel bank of the Rhine, the town house is largely integrated into the city ​​silhouette, which is still today characterized by sacred buildings of similar height, such as the Bonn Minster and the Kreuzkirche and the four towers of the university . The dominant effect of the building on its immediate surroundings is still controversial today.

Compared to the adjacent streets in the northern part of the city, the floor plan of the townhouse complex is slightly tilted, thus keeping it at a distance from the neighboring buildings; Trees and green spaces form a transition zone. There are small squares on the north and west edges of the complex.

The traffic connection is via a tram stop in the south - which was completely rebuilt from 2014 to 2015 - the entrance to the parking garage is separate and is located on the north side. It has 325 parking spaces and is open 24 hours a day. There is no level access to the town house for pedestrians, instead visitors are led directly to the so-called plus-one level via ramps and staircases attached in all directions. Access axes, which intersect at the atrium in the center of the complex, emanate from the stairways, some of which are equipped with escalators . There is a restaurant and access to the foyer. The three most frequently visited offices (registration office, road traffic office and city archive) are also directly accessible from this covered passage.

Overall, it can be clearly seen from the town house that it was planned in accordance with the urban development model of the “traffic-friendly city” that dominated in the 1960s. The architects' conscious decision not to have a main entrance at ground level in favor of decentralized, network-like routing is one of the most frequently raised criticisms of the building today.

architectural art

Sculpture by Nicolas Schöffer: Chronos 15 (1975–77)

On the east platform of the town house stands the sculpture Chronos 15, designed in 1975 by the French sculptor Nicolas Schöffer , made of polished stainless steel . It was installed on the town hall from July 1st, 1977 and inaugurated on July 12th. It is a light kinetic tower with a height of 20 m on a square ground plan of 160 × 160 cm. The framework consists of five columns made of square tubes - four outer and one middle - which are connected by diagonal cross braces to form a cross structure. Starting at different heights, four large and small semicircular arcs run helically around the core axis. Integrated into the sculpture are 56 metal mirrors of various shapes and sizes moved by the wind. Originally they were operated by motors and illuminated by 56 headlights in the colors white, blue, red, yellow and orange, so that the interplay resulted in visual impressions subject to permanent change. The complicated technology necessary to control these effects proved to be error-prone, so that the city of Bonn had headlights and motors removed in 1985/86. The sculpture is a logical part of the building, in particular due to the comparable material aesthetics.

The fountain sculpture Lichtwald (light field mirror) (also water light field mirror ) made of stainless steel, created 1975-77 by Günter Ferdinand Ris and erected on September 13, 1977, is located on the southern access ramp (Stadthausbrücke) spanning the city railway line . It is composed of 45 different high (450–600 cm) white steles on a C-shaped floor plan on a basin with a diameter of 10 m and functions as a marker for the tram stop, illuminated at night by built-in neon tubes. A film of water on the slightly inclined floor reflects both the steles that form a “forest of light” and the surrounding architecture.

The bronze sculpture Ruhe (Stille) by the Romanian sculptor Ladis Schwartz from 1977 stands on the east platform of the town house , which was initially installed in the interior of the foyer in 1980 and later moved outside. It consists of a cylindrical base, which is closed at the top by a flat, overhanging and rotating disc, and an organic shape resting on it.

In the inner courtyard (atrium) of the town house, on a white floor square with light openings, the designer Rolf Müller created the design object mirror folding made of stainless steel in the years 1974–1977 with the collaboration of the Graz architect Heinz Wondra and accepted on September 25, 1979 . It is based on the geometry of the cube and is 360 cm high on a plan measuring 720 × 720 cm in the main area. The object is made up of two standing and two isosceles as well as a 45 ° inclined triangle - in a form approximating an open, unfolded pyramid . The substructure consists of hot-dip galvanized profile steel . The light is reflected and refracted in many ways by the shiny surfaces and reflected into the area of ​​the entrance hall of the townhouse via the inclined triangle, so that this relatively dark location at the intersection between the townhouse towers is upgraded to expand the space.

A color coding system is how to find it in many large buildings of the sixties and seventies (approximately at the Ruhr University in Bochum and also of Heinle, Wischer & Partner designed the Olympic Village in Munich), the orientation within the should facilitate townhouse complex. It was developed by the designers Anton Stankowski and Rolf Müller , who also worked out "an overall design for the building with steles (stankograms) accompanying the way, signs, floor numbers and other information elements". This elaborate design concept, implemented according to a uniform plan, has a decisive influence on the impression of the town house.

The floor coverings in the outdoor area are designed in many places by alternating light and dark tiles; conspicuous, small-scale patterns indicate entrances to the building. A cross shape was inscribed across the entire width of the floor of the eastern forecourt.

  • Water light field mirror by Günter Ferdinand Ris

  • Mirror folding (1974–77) by Rolf Müller in the atrium

  • Peace and quiet from Ladis Schwartz

  • Characters (1979/80) by Fredi Rast

  • Color coding system

Status

In 2007/2008 the fire alarm system, escalators and electrical engineering of the Bonn town hall were to be renewed for 6 million euros. In the period that followed, there was a need for further renovation. Among other things, the floors of the parking decks are damaged, which has already led to water ingress in the storage rooms of the city archive below. The city of Bonn estimates the costs at 120 million euros. According to the Bund Deutscher Architekten (BDA) Bonn-Rhein-Sieg, the town house is "hopelessly out of date"; He suggests the station forecourt as the location for a new building . In the meantime, however, there are also a number of proposals for the valorization of the town hall; the building management of the city currently favors such a complete renovation. From January to April 2018, six escalators are to be renewed for 1.2 million euros.

reception

“To the west of Friedensplatz, the new Bonn town house looms threateningly upwards and sets a striking focal point in the city's silhouette. (…) The effort to loosen up the sterile atmosphere through the targeted use of colors and through commissions to modern artists and designers is also recognized. (...) But all these nice gimmicks are not able to mitigate the optical threat of the concrete and glass mountains, which do not fit into the historical surroundings at all. "

- Hermann Josef Roth (1988)

“Architecturally and conceptually, [the town house] is quite a success: the strongly structured structure, made up of five tower complexes of different heights, is characterized by carefully balanced proportions and, thanks to the light metal façade with sun-protected glazing, is basically designed to be lively and exciting. Such a building, which would undoubtedly be perceived as an enrichment in the cityscape of Frankfurt, is problematic for Bonn. Its oversized shape prevents any possibility of organic integration into the urban context, makes the building appear unrelated to the surroundings, unsuitable and autocratic. "

- Frank-Lothar Kroll (1989)

See also

literature

  • Heidi Bader: The town house in Bonn - a foreign body with qualities . In: Ingrid Scheurmann / Olav Helbig (eds.): Denk_Male des 20. Jahrhundert. Buildings-relicts-places of remembrance: Challenges for the preservation of monuments , TUDpress, Dresden 2010, ISBN 978-3-941298-81-1 , pp. 73–78.
  • Martin Bredenbeck : Between Bonner Loch and the town house. Thoughts on post-war urban architecture in Bonn . In: Birgit Franz / Hans-Rudolf Meier (ed.): Destruction and reconstruction. Urban planning after 1945. Problems of monument preservation from today's perspective , Mitzkat Verlag, Holzminden 2011, ISBN 978-3-940751-37-9 , pp. 120–129.
  • Andreas Denk / Ingeborg Flagge : Architekturführer Bonn , Dietrich Reimer Verlag, Berlin 1997, ISBN 3-496-01150-5 , p. 58.
  • Max Meier: New town house . In: Martin Bredenbeck / Constanze Moneke / Martin Neubacher (eds.): Building for the Federal Capital , Weidle Verlag, Bonn 2011, ISBN 978-3-938803-41-7 , pp. 70–73.
  • Martin Neubacher: "Clean and use". New awareness of the townhouse . In: Bund Heimat und Umwelt in Deutschland (Ed.): Klötze und places. Paths to a new awareness of large buildings from the 1960s and 1970s , Bonn 2012, pp. 155–162.
  • Franz Josef Talbot : The Bonn town house - the invisible colossus . In: Bund Heimat und Umwelt in Deutschland (Ed.): Klötze und places. Paths to a new awareness of large buildings from the 1960s and 1970s , Bonn 2012, pp. 94–100.
  • Werkstatt Baukultur Bonn (Ed.): Stadthaus , architecture guide of the Werkstatt Baukultur Bonn, Volume 4, Critical Edition Edition, Bonn 2014. ISSN  2196-5757 .
  • Steffen Wiederhold: The new town house: from the office to the open-plan office. In: Mathias Schmoeckel, Norbert Schloßmacher (ed. On behalf of the German Juristentage ): Places of law in Bonn. Bonn 2004, pp. 134-143.
  • Uta Winterhager: Bonn - the city crown as an apparatus . In: Bauwelt 40 , 41/2012, pp. 42–47.
  • Kerstin Wittmann-Englert: The town house in Bonn. A controversial testimony to municipal architecture . In: Michael Hecker / Ulrich Krings (eds.): Buildings and systems from the 1960s and 1970s - an unloved legacy? , Klartext Verlag, Essen 2011, ISBN 3-8375-0679-7 , pp. 62–69.
  • Willy Sauerborn: The new town house - a house for the citizens . In: 1975-79. Report of the city administration of Bonn. 10 years of the new city of Bonn, Bonn 1979, pp. 285–314.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Max Meier: Neues Stadthaus , p. 71
  2. ^ Karl Gutzmer : Chronicle of the city of Bonn . Chronik-Verlag, Dortmund 1988, ISBN 3-611-00032-9 , p. 257.
  3. ↑ Willy Sauerborn: Das neue Stadthaus , p. 311
  4. ↑ Facade panes will be unscrewed from Tuesday , General-Anzeiger, October 14, 2013
  5. ↑ Only one lane accessible: partial closure due to facade work , General-Anzeiger, January 20, 2014
  6. ↑ Town house: Remaining curtain panels are being dismantled , City of Bonn
  7. ↑ a b c d Gabriele Zabel-Zottmann: Sculptures and objects in the public space of the federal capital Bonn - installed from 1970 to 1991 . Dissertation, Bonn 2012, part 2. ( online PDF ; 5.8 MB).
  8. ^ Website of the Stankowski Foundation
  9. ^ Townhouse renovation costs six million euros , General-Anzeiger , March 1, 2007
  10. ↑ Architects: Bonn town house cannot be renovated , General-Anzeiger, July 7, 2011
  11. ↑ Town house: renovation possible, but how? , General-Anzeiger, July 1, 2011
  12. ↑ Bonner Stadthaus: Demolition plans are probably off the table , General-Anzeiger, November 30, 2011
  13. ↑ Six townhouse escalators will be renewed by April 2018 , press release from the city of Bonn, January 12, 2018
  14. ^ Hermann Josef Roth: DuMont art travel guide Bonn: from the Roman garrison to the federal capital - art and nature between the Voreifel and the Siebengebirge . DuMont, Cologne 1988, ISBN 978-3-7701-1970-7 , p. 88.
  15. ^ Frank-Lothar Kroll: Federal capital Bonn. A Danaer present? In: Federal Ministry for Building, Regional Planning and Urban Development (Ed.): Forty Years Federal Capital Bonn 1949–1989 . CF Müller, Karlsruhe 1989, ISBN 3-7880-9780-9 , pp. 92-115 (here: p. 96).

Web links

Commons : town house  - collection of images

Coordinates: 50 ° 44 ′ 13.3 "  N , 7 ° 5 ′ 40.3"  E