Weltstadthaus (Cologne)

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The Weltstadthaus sits atop the Nord-Süd-Fahrt
The Weltstadthaus viewed from the Schildergasse
Façade construction of the Weltstadthaus

The Weltstadthaus ("global city building"), housing a department store in Cologne, Germany, was designed by Renzo Piano and completed in 2005, following a lengthy legal battle concerning the structural engineering of the core building.[1] It covers up a main traffic artery, the Nord-Süd-Fahrt, and faces Europe's most frequented shopping mile, the Schildergasse.

Overview[]

With its usual, organic shape reminiscent of a ship, but also of a stranded whale -- Kölners have dubbed it the Walfisch--it provides 14.400 m² floor space, on a length of 130 m and a width of 60 m. The atrium offers a view of five stories with a height of 36 m. The 4900 m² glass façade is constructed from 6800 individual panes and 66 massive laminated beams of Siberian larch. The northern façade consists of 4.400 m² of natural stone.

Wedged between a late Gothic church, the , and nondescript post-war concrete, it consists of two distinct parts. A rectangular block of stone takes up the rhythms of the surrounding seventies' angular forms, while the partially encircling wood-and-glass construction flows toward the church that had looked somewhat displaced previously. [2]

Municipal regulations prevent the cupola from being accessible to the general public, but it is opened on special occasions. The department store is operated by the German chain Peek & Cloppenburg, who commissioned the Piano design, which has won several prizes. [3] [4]

From P&C's point of view, this is one in a series of Weltstadthäuser, each designed by a different architect: in Berlin (Gottfried Böhm), Düsseldorf (Richard Meier), Frankfurt (), Cologne (Renzo Piano), Leipzig (), Mannheim (Richard Meier again), Stuttgart (Josef Paul Kleihues), Vienna (David Chipperfield, completed late 2011). [5] [6]

References[]

  1. ^ Niederlage für Hochtief um Kölner „Weltstadthaus”, Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger, Feb. 25, 2003 (German)
  2. ^ Renzo Piano Builds The Weltstadthaus In Cologne
  3. ^ Deutscher Holzbaupreis 2005
  4. ^ MIPIM Special Jury Award 2006
  5. ^ Klettner, Andrea (13 September 2011). "David Chipperfield Architects completes Vienna department store". Building Design online. Archived from the original on 2012-07-22. Retrieved 2012-07-22.
  6. ^ Weltstadt-Architektur P & C website (in German)

External links[]

Media related to Weltstadthaus (Köln) at Wikimedia Commons

Coordinates: 50°56′8.31″N 6°57′10.75″E / 50.9356417°N 6.9529861°E / 50.9356417; 6.9529861

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