KÜNZELSAU, GERMANY 2011-
The company headquarters of Adolf Würth KG are situated to the south of the German town of Künzelsau. David Chipperfield Architects is planning a congress and culture center within the direct vicinity of the Würth headquarters. The new building comprises an event hall, a concert hall, a conference center, and a museum for the Würth art collection. The site has a slight incline to the north, where it borders with a main state road. The landscape is shaped by expansive meadows and fields to the south and west and provides distant views up to the Waldenburg mountains.
The elongated volume is embedded in the landscape, which it integrates as an architectural theme. By formulating two height levels, the building interprets the topography both inside and outside. The event hall rises above the highest point of the terrain and can be used for sporting events among other functions. The uppermost hall level is glazed on all sides, while the lower level is sunk into the earth. The chamber music hall situated underground is only perceived as a modulation of the landscape from outside, from which an elongated plinth emerges. The facades of the plinth are made of fair-faced concrete. Large openings provide daylight for the interiors and views into the landscape. The plinth houses the conference center and leads on to the museum galleries at its southern end. The forecourts for both the event hall and museum are placed to the side of the building. They are connected to one another by seating steps and provide a sheltered area for open-air events.
The museum provides optimum exhibition conditions with a large hall with a daylight ceiling and a further gallery with side light. The chamber music hall designed for an audience of 500 is dedicated to the experience of music but can also be used for lectures and panel discussions. The acoustics are optimized using wooden wall and ceiling elements. An overriding material concept strengthens the interior connections between the different areas. Wood can therefore also be found in the other spaces of the center. Separate entrances make it possible to use the whole building as an entity as well as the different functions independently.