54 PROJECT REPORT: RETAIL DEVELOPMENTS


© Carola Kohler VIBRANT BLEND


The architects’ ambition was to “present Wuppertal as a vibrant blend of the old an the new – with a contemporary design for a striking centrepiece”


Because of this, that highway was lowered by 6 metres, and a new bridge made of steel and folded glass built, flanked on both sides by retail/food and beverage pavilions. Yvonne adds: “The new bridge transforms the pedestrian experience, seamlessly linking the station with the city centre.”


A perhaps smaller, but still significant design challenge for the architects was to reduce the size of the public square in front of the railway station, and create what the architect describes as a “much more human scale.” “We achieved this, for example, by proposing the relocation of the main building to bring it into closer focus, Yvonne explains.


A striking centrepiece Now complete, users crossing the new, improved public realm are greeted by the new flagship store’s unique, amorphous and slanted facade, which achieves its aim of forming an architectural landmark in the city.


The curved facade of brass panels first WWW.ARCHITECTSDATAFILE.CO.UK


draws the eye in with its intricacies – each panel having to be designed “individually and with care” because there couldn’t be a uniform size and shape, each panel also having a unique perforation to create a discernible pattern from the variety. Inspiring City Plaza’s exterior here was the city’s 18th and 19th century textiles boom, details Yvonne, the practice taking in influence from the yarns, fabrics and lace that were created here, as well as the colouring of such materials. “We decided to create a multiply, curving facade,” she says, “leaning outwards at the upper levels by 4.6 per cent (a total of 2 metres overall), which resembles the folds of curtains.” The architect explains how this curved gold cladding, produced by German metal facade manufacturer Pohl Facade Division, fits into the surrounding vernacular: “Our ambition was to present Wuppertal as a vibrant blend of the old and the new – with a contemporary design for a striking centrepiece building which would help to achieve that in a way which would complement the wider urban


ADF FEBRUARY 2020


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