Outline Concept
“The contact between the building system of the new ECB site and the town is made possible through two main plazas; one plaza, enclosed within the area, is covered by water. Pedestrian and vehicular traffic is channelled under this monumental water plaza, hosting the memorial site. The main building will be developed along the riverside, in order to preserve the sight of the Grossmarkthalle from the town. The other plaza, external, will be running along the Sonnemannstrasse.

The Grossmarkthalle is organised into three parallel strips containing both public and semi-public activities.

One strip links the existing building to the new one and the office system will be developed around patios.

The main building, located on the riverside, is a composition of two thin structures, separated by a central void, visually connected to the city in a dynamic way.

According to this scheme, there is an equal hierarchy between solids and voids. The holes (voids) opening on the buildings are intended to become a place for visual contact between the town and working spaces, within the main building.

The relationship between the Grossmarkthalle and the surroundings is preserved by these voids presented in the main structure.

There are two main workplace types: the box and the open office, each one organised around a particular landscape. The relationship between work and environment is in constant integration and inversion. The horizontal platform is organised around external patios, while the space inside the main building is organised around a vertical void system. Both these systems follow the same aim: to bring light and natural environment deep into internal space.”