The three winning designs in the open, two-phase planning competition for the Wolfsburg Education Center were honored on may 7, 2014 and the corresponding prizes awarded. In addition, five consortiums of architectural and landscape architecture firms whose ideas for the Bildungshaus were particularly innovative each received recognition.
"The architectural firms did not have an easy task. The functional and urban planning challenges were enormous. The award-winning works by architects from Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and Finland have convincingly implemented our prototypical idea for the Bildungshaus," says a delighted Monika Thomas, the city's head of construction.
The three winning designs, which each received 43,000 euros in prize money, interpreted the challenging task quite differently. Schaltraum Architektur (Hamburg) and Werner Sobek Stuttgart GmbH (Stuttgart) with HinnenthalSchaar LandschaftsArchitekten (Munich) placed their education building under the motto "Plug in and find out". The concept impresses with a good structure that allows for a variety of uses and with an interactive media façade.
The cube by prosa architekten (Darmstadt) with Rehwaldt Landschaftsarchitekten (Dresden) defines the southern entrance to the city in a special way, connecting the city with the park. The building lives through the interconnectedness of the different areas.
The Bildungshaus by the Finnish firm Esa Ruskeepää Architects (Helsinki) with Fugmann Janotta Landscape Architecture (Berlin) impresses with its open, flexible building concept. A special atmosphere is created by the interplay between innovative architecture and the greenery inside as well as in the open space design.
"The Bildungshaus embodies our understanding of innovative, networked education. In addition, it will shape the southern entrance to the city for decades to come. For this reason, the jury decided not to award first prize and to allow the three best designs to undergo further work," explains Mayor Klaus Mohrs.
In a subsequent revision phase, the architects will now have the chance to optimize their designs in dialog with the adult education center, the New School public library and the city administration. The jury will then meet again to advise the city of Wolfsburg on which building to choose.
The open, two-phase competition for the Wolfsburg Education House was launched in August 2013. Working groups of architects and landscape architects from all over Europe were able to participate anonymously. Of 112 entries, 22 designs were selected at the first jury meeting in December last year.
The participation of citizens was unusual in such a competition. In March, all residents of Wolfsburg had the opportunity to examine the architects' ideas. "We are thrilled about the great interest among citizens. More than 850 people took part and evaluated the 22 Education House designs for argumentation," reports Iris Bothe, City Councilor for Youth, Education and Integration